The Philippines plans to prepare a detailed plan for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on how it could embark on a nuclear power program, Philippine Secretary of Energy Alfonso Cusi said yesterday, backing a push for the country to tap nuclear energy.
“We are set to meet with the IAEA next month to discuss further collaboration,” Cusi said, after receiving a report from the agency on the infrastructure that the country would need for a nuclear program.
“This is the beginning of a new phase of work, because we have to prepare now our plan of action and we are going to present it to them, to the IAEA, and they are going to audit us,” Cusi added.
The Philippine Department of Energy has been studying the use of nuclear power, a divisive issue in the country due to safety concerns. It has drafted an executive order, which is awaiting Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s signature, outlining a national policy to support its plan.
Duterte has said that safety would be his top consideration in deciding whether the country would pursue nuclear energy.
Nuclear power is seen as a potential answer to the Philippines’ twin problems of precarious supply and the high cost of electricity, although Cusi said that other options were also being considered.
“We are hungry for power and we will tap any sources that would satisfy our needs now,” he said.
The government is looking at deploying small modular nuclear plants to some of the country’s islands still suffering from power shortage, Cusi said.
The government signed a memorandum of understanding with Russian state atomic company Rosatom involving a pre-feasibility study for such plants, he added.
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