Nuclear power may lower electricity cost, ERC advises next admin

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) on Sunday told the incoming Marcos administration that adding nuclear energy in the country’s power mix may lower the cost of electricity in the country.

In a Super Radyo dzBB interview, ERC chairperson Agnes Devanadera was asked what she could recommend to the next administration to address the current problems in the country’s power supply.

“Kailangan ma-determine ng pamahalaan ano talaga ang energy mix. Anong percent ang renewable energy, anong percent ang coal, anong percent ang biomass? Isama na ang nuclear kasi ang hinahanap natin ay reliable and reasonably priced source of energy,” she said.

“Ang nuclear, isa yan sa posibleng makapagpababa ng ating cost ng kuryente at ‘yan naman, iba ang technology sa nuclear. Hindi naman kailangan katulad ng Bataan Nuclear Power Plant na pagkalaki-laki. Meron na tayong modular na mas madaling itayo,” she added.

(The government needs to determine what the country’s energy mix should really be. What percent is renewable energy, the coal, the biomass? Nuclear power should also be included because what we are looking for is a reliable and reasonably priced source of energy. Nuclear is one of the possible ways to lower our electricity costs and it uses a different technology. It doesn't need to be like the huge Bataan Nuclear Power Plant because we already have modular power plants that are easier to build.)

Devanadera said this after the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) placed the Luzon Grid under yellow alert status last week.

A yellow alert status indicates that the grid has thin reserves based on the difference between supply and demand, with 11,959 megawatts of available capacity versus the 11,350 megawatts peak demand.

Devanadera, however, reminded the Marcos administration that putting up new sources of energy such as nuclear power could take a long while, thus demand-side management is needed.

Department of Energy (DOE) Undersecretary Gerardo Erguiza Jr. previously said they would ramp up the regulatory framework of the inclusion of nuclear energy in the country’s power mix which it hopes the next administration will adopt.

He said the DOE has come up with studies to assess the safety and security of the nuclear power that is aligned with international standards.

President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Vice President-elect Sara Duterte also earlier vowed to hasten the country's adoption of nuclear power in a bid to lower electricity rates after President Rodrigo Duterte issued an executive order tapping nuclear power as an energy source along with other alternative energy resources. —KG, GMA News