The government may offer nuclear power projects in partnership with the private sector if it pushes the fuel program, National Power Corp. president Froilan Tampinco said Friday.
“Under the present scheme of the government, there can be a possible strategic partnership between the government and the private sector in order to take care of handling a possible entry of nuclear facility,” Tampinco said during a forum at the Sofitel Plaza.
The government launched the private-public sector partnership initiative last month when President Benigno Aquino III assured investors with “protection against regulatory risk.”
Tampinco said new nuclear projects should be medium-sized power plants to ensure the reliability of the system.
The $2.3-billion Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, which had a capacity of 600 megawatts, was mothballed in 1986 due to safety concerns.
“I believe that if we ever will embark in a nuclear project, it will have to be confined to medium-sized nuclear plants because if we go for large size nuclear power plants like 1,000 MW, if such a plant gets out of the system, it will introduce a lot of instability in the network,” Tampinco told forum participants.
Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras earlier said the Philippines would start moving with studies on nuclear energy.
“The department will be taking the lead [on the conduct of the study]. We will be working with all government agencies and Asean counterparts,” he said.
He said Asean ministers agreed to come up with the terms of reference on nuclear energy development within the next 18 to 24 months.
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