Despite possible supply shortages that could result in rotational blackouts during the 20-day Malampaya shutdown this October and in the May 2022 elections, the Department of Energy appears determined to reject the proposal of Manila Electric Company (Meralco) for emergency supply procurement of an additional 220MW supply.
Meralco is seeking an exemption from the competitive selection process (CSP) given the urgency on its need for additional supply; especially since the contracted price will cheaper than the previously approved rates by the Energy Regulatory Commission. However, the energy department is not inclined to approve this proposal as the agency views it as a circumvention of the CSP, which seeks to protect consumers.
This is the supply and policy backdrop in the energy sector, which gives rise to renewed calls to revisit all available technologies for electricity generation, including nuclear energy.
A high-level commitment on the country’s nuclear policy has been unfortunately delayed, with President Rodrigo Duterte issuing Executive Order No. 116 only in July 2020. The issuance mandates a government study to determine and develop the national position for a nuclear power program in the country.
While Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi has already submitted the required study to Mr. Duterte last December 2020, there has been no relevant developments on the matter to date, particularly on whether the President has already approved the inter-agency proposal on the country’s national position on nuclear energy and the other steps forward to expedite the use of nuclear energy as one of the technologies for power generation.
This significant delay is concerning, given that the current administration is already in its final months in office, and the head of the energy department has been busy engaging in political activities despite tight power supply and the coronavirus pandemic.
In fact, as early 2017, the Philippines through the Department of Science and Technology and the Department of Energy, has entered into a several agreements with the Russian Federation, through the State Atomic Energy Corporation (ROSATOM) to enhance cooperation between the two countries on the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
Gains
Among the gains from this cooperation has been capacity-building programs conducted by Russian nuclear scientists on the various uses of nuclear energy.
More tangible gains would have been achieved had there been no substantial delay in the development of the country’s nuclear policy, especially since the 1987 Constitution makes no prohibition on the peaceful use of nuclear energy. What the Constitution expressly prohibits are nuclear weapons, and not nuclear energy per se, such that there should be no legal impediment for government to proceed in the development of its nuclear technology.
In fact, nuclear energy constitutes more than nuclear weapons and power plants, as it includes irradiation technology relevant to the country’s agricultural export market of fruits and vegetables.
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As an archipelago with large island populations, the country can also be one of the leading areas in the use of modular floating nuclear reactors, a technology which is being developed separately by the world’ leading powers, Russia, China and the United States.
With unprecedented electricity supply generated by floating reactors, economic growth can be stimulated in previously untapped areas, with a real potential to develop tourism, infrastructure and industry.
Independent foreign policy
With President Duterte revoking the abrogation of the Visiting Forces Agreement, it is imperative for the country to maintain its commitment to an independent foreign policy, and energy security is an area in which government should look to its other international partners.
South Korea’s dependence on US nuclear technology should serve as warning on the limits of depending on a single superpower for the development of nuclear energy.
US allies and partners entering into nuclear cooperation agreements are mandated to comply with what are known as Section 123 agreements, which include conditionalities that may impinge on the sovereignty of states, such as requiring prior US approval for the production or obtainment of highly-enriched uranium and plutonium, and the enrichment or processing of nuclear material.
These mandates essentially limit state policies establishing an independent foreign policy, as it institutes exclusive nuclear relations with a single superpower. Entering into these types of cooperation agreements will exclude cooperation with other nations possessing competing or complementary technologies.
The country’s energy security should not be a bargaining chip in the laundry list of geopolitical objectives of competing superpowers.
Our partners in ensuring the country’s energy security should be engaged on the basis of their track record, experience, safety and security.