Guv, ex-solon want nuclear plant in Negros

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. and former Pangasinan Rep. Mark Cojuangco are pushing for the construction of a nuclear power plant in Negros Occidental to solve the province’s looming power problems.

Cojuangco, son of business tycoon and former ambassador Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco Jr., visited Marañon at the Capitol last Monday to discuss about the nuclear power plants, which the former congressman has been promoting nationwide.

“I believe nuclear power addresses not only cheap energy, but also global warming and climate change. It is the safest and cleanest energy ever invented by humankind and we ought to use it to serve our people,” Cojuangco said at a press briefing.

He said wholesale electricity is sold at P4.5 to P5 per kilowatt-hour, but nuclear power will be sold at P2 to P2.50 per kWh, because nuclear power plants should be built near the area where it is needed, making transmission charges less costly.

Marañon agreed with Cojuangco, saying he favored the building of a nuclear power plant be built in Negros Occidental. “I am in favor of nuclear power plant. Japan, the US, and practically the whole of Europe have nuclear power plants. The way of the future for us is nuclear power plants,” he said.

If there is a feasible location for a nuclear power plant in Negros Occidental, the governor said he will support it, adding that Negrenses should not be sidetracked by debates being initiated by some groups, because “we always lag behind because of too much debates, rather than implementation.”

Marañon said that those who object to nuclear power plants should be clear on what they are objecting to, either in technical or environment aspects, and that the opposing groups should present an alternative solution instead, he said.

Cojuangco cited the power crisis in Mindanao as an example of lack of power. “Mindanao is an example ... Everything stops, the economy stops, growth, job creation stops. A lot of difficulties come to our people when power is too expensive or in short supply,” he said, adding that the most expensive power is no power at all.

Marañon, saying that nuclear power is reliable and does not run out of supply compared to other alternative energies, told the media that he and Cojuangco will hold a forum on nuclear power plants soon, where all the stakeholders and environment and cause-oriented groups will discuss and debate over the merits and demerits of nuclear energy for proper information to the public.

Cojuangco said Negros Occidental will be an ideal site for the construction of a nuclear power plant because it is centrally located in the Visayas region, and it could supply power to Cebu and Panay Islands. “You should ask the national government for something in exchange of locating nuclear power plants here … and it is a tremendous boost to your local economy,” he said.

Negros Occidental has no power plants of its own yet, and Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras had earlier warned that the province could face a serious power shortage by 2014 to 2015 if it does not start building its own plant starting this year.

Cojuangco said the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP), constructed in the 1970s and finished in the 1980s, is safe and can withstand a quake of intensity 9. It has a stronger seismic specification than the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant in Japan that was hit by a magnitude 9 earthquake last March 2011. If Fukushima survived the intensity 9 quake, BNPP will also survive it, he said.