MANILA (Reuters) – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday signed an executive order to include nuclear power in the Philippines’ energy mix, as authorities prepare to phase out reliance on coal-fired power plants.
The decree, made public on Thursday, could be an important step for an economy suffering from seasonal power cuts and high electricity prices.
Signed three months before Rodrigo Duterte finished his term, this decree also instructs a group bringing together several agencies to study the reopening of the Bataan nuclear power plant (BNPP).
“The government undertakes to introduce nuclear energy into the energy mix of our country”, is it indicated in the decree.
Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi supported the use of nuclear power and said it could help alleviate supply problems and high costs.
Rodrigo Duterte said nuclear power would be harnessed as a baseload energy source as the Philippines seeks to move away from relying on coal-fired power plants to meet its climate goals.
Previous attempts to harness nuclear power in the Philippines have been halted over security concerns, but the new plan builds on a BNPP revival proposal, built in response to an energy crisis under the dictator’s rule. Ferdinand Marcos.
Completed in 1984, the plant was shut down two years later, after the ousting of Ferdinand Marcos and the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
Since 2009, the BNPP has been a tourist attraction, which makes it possible to cover its maintenance costs.
(Report Enrico Dela Cruz; French version Camille Raynaud)
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