Duterte Agrees On Nuclear Power To Replace Coal For Electricity

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. (Wikimedia Commons/PCOO EDP)

MANILA - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has signed an executive order to include nuclear power in the country's energy mix.

The decision follows the authorities' readiness to phase out coal-fired power plants and after previous attempts failed due to safety concerns.

The February 28 order announced on Thursday, March 3, could be a major milestone for an economy experiencing seasonal blackouts and high electricity tariffs but will worry opponents of the move.

Signed three months before Duterte ends his sole six-year term, the order also directs an interagency panel to investigate the reopening of the abandoned Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP).

"The national government is committed to incorporating nuclear energy into the country's energy mix", the order said, citing Antara.

Philippine Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi has backed nuclear power and said it could help alleviate supply problems and high costs.

Duterte said nuclear power would be utilized as a viable alternative baseload power source as the Philippines seeks to phase out coal-fired power plants to help achieve climate goals.

Previous efforts to achieve nuclear energy in the Philippines were halted due to safety concerns, but the new plan builds on a proposal to revive the BNPP built in response to the energy crisis during the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos.

Completed in 1984, the plant was abandoned two years later following the overthrow of Marcos and the deadly Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

Since 2009, BNPP has been operating as a tourist attraction to help with maintenance costs.

"The Duterte administration will soon leave a terrible legacy and prepare us for other scary stories like Chernobyl and Fukushima", said a Greenpeace campaigner, referring to the world's worst nuclear disasters.

Deputy Energy Minister Gerardo Erguiza Jr. said the regulatory framework for nuclear power still needed legislation and its future also hinged on the next administration's agenda.

The late dictator's son, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, who is the front-runner in the presidential election next May, has said he plans to revisit the BNPP project, according to local media reports.