Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi has proposed the creation of an executive order which seeks to include nuclear power in the Philippines’ energy mix as the country is expected to have “a rapid growth in electricity demand,” Malacañang said Tuesday.
Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said the proposed EO was submitted by the Office of Executive Secretary to President Rodrigo Duterte on Feb. 20 and it has “not been approved yet.”
Cusi made the proposal during the Cabinet meeting led by the President on Monday night, which is among the short-term and long-term outlooks for the power sector and the corrective policy issuances being undertaken by the Department of Energy.
This came after the country entered into an agreement with a Russian company during President Duterte’s state visit to Moscow in October last year.
The Philippines has been looking at Russia to invest in the Philippines’ energy sector.
In November 2017, the Philippines and Russia agreed on a nuclear cooperation program under a memorandum of cooperation signed during the 12th East Asia Summit.
Panelo said neither the revival of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant nor the building of a new nuclear energy facility was tackled in the Cabinet meeting.
The Bataan Nuclear Power Plant is the country’s first and only nuclear power plant built during the term of former President Ferdinand Marcos. However, it never became operational due to alleged safety concerns and corruption issues.
Currently, nuclear power plants are prohibited under the Constitution.