PNRI CHIEF ASKS PUBLIC TO SUPPORT PBBM ADMIN’S NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION TO CUT POWER COST

 

Dateline Kamuning: 

A nuclear expert called on the public to support the Marcos administration’s plan to adopt nuclear technology for power generation to cut down the increasing energy costs in the Philippines.

Speaking before a media forum in Quezon City, Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) Director Carlos Arcilla stressed the need to lower the cost of electricity to attract more investors, boost economic activity, and reduce the burden of consumers in the country.

“Kaya kailangan nang ibaba ang presyo ng kuryente, sobrang pahirap sa masa; sana tulungan natin ang president. Ang problema kasi, may mga ayaw yata ng nuclear kasi may mga negosyo silang maaapektuhan,” Arcilla said.

Arcilla cited the Krško Nuclear Plant in Slovenia, saying the European country’s cost of power generation is one-tenth that of the Philippines.

South Korea, which operates 24 nuclear power plants, produces electricity half the cost of power generation in the Philippines, Arcilla noted.

Both South Korea and the Philippines started their nuclear programs more or less at the same time in the 1980’s, with the two countries’ GDPs almost at par with each other. South Korea today has rapidly expanded its economy, Arcilla pointed out.

Island provinces or those not connected to the grid, will particularly benefit from using small modular nuclear reactors, as envisioned by the Marcos administration, the PNRI official said.

“Kasi ang pinakamahal na kuryente sa Pilipinas ay iyong mga nasa isla na hindi naka-connect sa grid. Ako po taga-Catanduanes, sobrang mahal ang kuryente sa amin – parusa sa taumbayan. Naiyak ako one time eh, iyong isang retiradong empleyado pagkadating noong tseke niya, inintrega na lang doon sa cooperative – ganoon kamahal,” he pointed out.

The Marcos administration has been focusing on ensuring unhampered energy supply alongside the promotion and utilization of renewable energy sources to attain sufficient and clean energy supply in the future. (PND)