Fil-Chinese group backs nuclear energy adoption

The Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc. (FFCCCII) on Wednesday said it was supporting moves by the government to adopt nuclear energy, adding to the growing number of private sector groups calling for the country to move toward this direction amid the rising prices of electricity.

Two officials from the trade group said the chamber was backing this policy direction, which has been widely pushed by President Marcos.

“I think [that] with the advent of newer technology, we can have smaller, safer nuclear reactor plants. And the country needs to lower its electricity costs. So, we need to encourage [new nuclear] power plants to be set up,” said FFCCCII vice president Jeffrey Ng during a forum at the Kamuning Bakery in Quezon City.

Ng said that even Japan and some European countries were reconsidering their previous stance to move away from nuclear energy, citing that these countries were now even planning to reopen previously shuttered nuclear facilities.

Cecilio Pedro, another vice president at the trade group, added that the argument against nuclear power plants was that people were afraid of earthquakes.

“They are saying that if an earthquake occurs, the nuclear power plant could have leaks,” he said during the same forum. But Pedro said that there was sufficient technology today to safeguard nuclear power plants from earthquakes, ensuring that these critical facilities would not cause a meltdown.

“Nuclear power is still the cheapest power available to us. And nuclear power is also very efficient,” Pedro added, referring to the long life span of nuclear facilities compared with other types of power plants.

Energy inflation

The Philippines’ annual inflation accelerated further to 8 percent in November compared with last year, with electricity, gas and other fuels rising 6.9 percent.

Most of the country’s power plants are coal-fired and diesel-fed, meaning that local cost of electricity is closely tied to the global market prices of coal.

Earlier this month, the country’s largest power distributor, Manila Electric Co., announced an increase of P0.3297 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in electricity rates, bringing the cost of electricity for a typical household to P10.2769 per kWh this December from last month’s P9.9472 per kWh. The price hike meant an increase in electricity cost of about P66 for residential customers with a monthly consumption rate of 200 kWh.

Several business organizations, including Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Foreign Buyers Association of the Philippines, and British Chamber of Commerce Philippines have earlier voiced support for the adoption of nuclear energy in the country. INQ