The Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (AFP/MANILA BULLETIN)

As the country faces the prospect of a power shortfall amid the extreme summer heat, Pangasinan 2nd district Rep. Mark Cojuangco has called on the Department of Energy (DOE) to consider nuclear energy as a viable option to reinforce the country’s energy supply.

“The DOE must fulfill their mandate without delay, we cannot keep having rotational brownouts nationwide when red alerts are issued during the summer season,” Cojuango said in a statement on Tuesday afternoon, April 16.

“The time for action is now, and the DOE must rise to the occasion,” he emphasized.

Cojuangco, chairman of the House Special Committee on Nuclear Energy, criticized the department for the persistent rotational brownouts at a time when various towns around the country are experiencing dangerously high heat indexes.

The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) even raised on Tuesday a red alert, warning consumers in Luzon of possible rotational brownouts.

The lawmaker, who is from Luzon, pointed out that nuclear energy can help increase the country’s energy supply through an affordable and reliable option. He says this is also in line with a just energy transition.

He advised the DOE to utilize the Philippine Nuclear Power Plant (PNPP-1) in Bataan, which stands at 100 percent completion.

The necessary infrastructure is supposedly already in place, and could be readily facilitated with assistance through financing and technical expertise from South Korea.

“Despite this clear necessity, the DOE has yet to embrace the urgency of deploying a substantial capacity of reliable and cost-effective nuclear power at the earliest opportunity,” said Cojuangco.

The Pangasinan solon says that failure to act quickly would be a “disservice” to the public who are “left hanging in this sweltering heat and jeopardized economic opportunity”.

He said immediate action is necessary given that the energy situation will continue to get worse as the needs of an expanding population grow year by year.

“If our supply does not increase, all our plans for economic development will remain unattainable,” he noted.

“DOE must act now and ensure that their actions align with the best interests of all Filipinos,” he added.