To Open or Not to Open

Hi world here's P.E.E.L.s fifth post... As you know from our previous blog, the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) has been mothballed for thirty years. This post will include advantages and disadvantages of opening the BNPP, and our personal opinions on this. Before we start though we would like to tell you that we would love it if you could contribute your opinions and views on our blog and the situation cited.

First of all, we were faced with the question, if you were the president of the Philippines and there was a sudden power crisis and the price of oil went sky high, would we open the BNPP knowing that we are risking the lives of endangered sea turtles only 8 minutes away?

Here are the pros and cons of the situation to help you pick your side, to open or not to open?
Advantages:

• The added electricity supply will definitely help to solve the power crisis
• As aged as it is, the power plant is well designed and constructed, with similar power plants safely operating around the world.
• When properly used and maintained, and with safety measures properly implemented, there is only a small chance that deadly levels of radiation would leak out.
• The Philippines also needs to cope with the changes of the industrial world, and opening the BNPP is a major step, signifying our readiness to operate such technology.
• The billions of pesos already spent on this power plant would go to waste if we don't open it, especially as it was closed not due to any malfunctions or bad designs but rather due to political reasons.
• Nuclear power plants that are well-run may produce less pollutants and harmful substances, thus leaving the surrounding area cleaner and safer for plant and animal inhabitants than the coal fired power plants commonly used in the Philippines.

Disadvantages:

• Natural Disasters may occur, causing a radiation leak that will kill many people, animals (especially the sea turtle), and plant life. It would also cause the surrounding areas to be uninhabitable for several decades.
• In its 30 years existence, the BNPP has never been in operations and its true condition is unknown. This means many tests should be conducted and expensive parts need to be replaced. This will increase the costs necessary to have the power plant reconditioned before use.

Here's the BNPP:

(picture source)

What is P.E.E.L.'s stand? Political issues and scenarios aside, we support the reconditioning and opening of the BNPP, mainly because during a power crisis you really have no choice but to find ways to produce cheaper electricity. We have one of the most expensive electricity rates in the ASEAN, and many potential investors as well as current businesses and households are negatively impacted by this price. Operating the BNPP will add more supply for Luzon, and hopefully push electric rates in a downward direction. Overall, we believe the pros really outweigh the cons and opening the BNPP would really be a major contributor to the current power crisis.

That's all for this post, and remember, comment your stand we'd love to hear from you. Til' the next post!