Will the white elephant come to life?

This Tuesday, the price of gasoline and diesel will increase again. According to reports, this will be the largest increase, some say in double-digits. There are reports diesel may increase by ?11/liter. Diesel is used by almost all public transportation and delivery vehicles. They have been heavily affected by this seemingly endless price increase due to Vladimir Putin’s baseless invasion of Ukraine. Surely this increase will be passed on to the consumer. One of these is the definite increase in the price of electricity. We already have the most expensive electricity in Asia.

Last February, President Duterte signed Executive Order 164 paving the way for the government to use nuclear power as an alternative energy source. This brings back into discussion the very expensive and unutilized Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP). There have been calls to refurbish this white elephant to conform with current standards for operating safe nuclear power. The Philippines will now partner with the United States to promote safe nuclear energy for the country.

With the ongoing war in Ukraine, it is becoming clear crude oil cannot be heavily relied upon for the country's energy needs. There are many energy sources such as hydroelectric, solar, and geothermal but the main source of our energy is from coal-fired plants. About 75% of the country's demand is imported from Indonesia and Australia. Our local source of coal cannot meet the country's needs. If the price of oil rises because of the war, the price of coal will likely rise. Factors such as delivery costs and currency exchange come into play.

Many countries use nuclear energy such as America, France, South Korea, India, Japan, and Taiwan. China is supposedly building more than a hundred nuclear power plants in the coming decade. Despite this, there are still those who oppose nuclear energy and are actively blocking the opening of the BNPP. They claim it to be unsafe and bad for the environment. The incidents at Chernobyl and Fukushima are being highlighted. The BNPP was allegedly built near an active fault line and near a volcano making it prone to damage. If the BNPP is to be used as an energy source, it will have to overcome these oppositions. The plant itself is identified with the corruption under the dictator Ferdinand Marcos. The opening was scrapped under the Corazon Aquino administration due to safety issues as well as the corruption of those involved in its construction.

If the opening of the BNPP is to proceed, all safety concerns must be addressed. Is it safe where it stands? Its refurbishment must be per current standards for operating a safe nuclear plant. I’m all for operating this plant if only to get what the country painfully paid for. We need other sources of energy. But if it is proven to be unsafe because of a possible earthquake or volcanic eruption, forget it. I do not think the country can deal with a nuclear plant disaster.