Philippine Nuclear Plans

UNCLAS MANILA 000154 SIPDIS STATE PASS ISN/MNSA - DAVIS, RAY, ADAMS STATE PASS UNVIE FOR IAEA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ENRG TRGY BEXP BTIO RP SUBJECT: Philippine Nuclear Plans REF: STATE 127423 ¶1. Summary: The Philippines is considering rehabilitating a never-used nuclear plant built in the 1980s, and recently entered into an agreement with the Korean Electric Power Corporation to study the feasibility of operating that plant. End summary. ¶2. Westinghouse completed a nuclear power plant in Bataan Province in 1986 which was never put into operation after the government changed. Although there were allegations of financial irregularities and safety deficiencies at the time, it is not clear that the decision not to open the plant was based on anything other than politics. Twenty years later, in May 2008, the International Atomic Energy Agency recommended the Philippines study the use of nuclear energy as a power generation option and the feasibility of putting the unused Bataan Nuclear Power Plant into operation. ¶3. On December 23, 2008, the Philippine National Power Corporation (Napocor) signed a memorandum of understanding with the Korea Electric Power Corporation to conduct studies on the potential of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. Napocor has emphasized that the memorandum of understanding is not a commitment to operate the plant, but merely for a study of the feasibility of operating the plant. ¶4. The Philippines wants to keep its nuclear energy options open and reduce the government's role in power generation. Current legislation seeks to privatize the power generation sector and prohibits the government from investing in new power generating facilities. ¶5. The Philippine Nuclear Research Institute is tasked to promote and control nuclear materials in power generation, agriculture, medicine, and other fields. The Institute's Director is Alumanda Dela Rosa. Other contacts for nuclear energy include Department of Energy Undersecretary Ramon Allan V. Oca; Department of Energy Policy Formulation & Research Division Chief Salvador Salire, Jr.; National Power Corporation Senior Vice President Pio Benavidez; and National Power Corporation Manager for Asset Preservation Mauro Marcelo, Jr. ¶6. Legislation has been drafted to establish an independent nuclear regulatory body. Under the draft, this regulatory body will have quasi-judicial functions, and will be directly under the Office of the President of the Philippines. ¶7. The Philippines is party to most international agreements related to nuclear energy and has signed (but not ratified) the following: Convention on Nuclear Safety; Joint Convention on Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste; Joint Protocol Relating to the Application of the Vienna Convention and the Paris Convention; Protocol to Amend the Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage; Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage; Nuclear Proliferation Technology Safeguard Agreement; Amendment to the Convention on Physical Protection of Nuclear Material; Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident; and the Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency. The Philippines is a signatory to the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapons Free Zone Treaty. ¶8. The Department of Energy wants to improve the skills of its people to facilitate using nuclear power as a long-term energy option. At present, there are about a hundred nuclear engineers in the Philippines, most trained by Westinghouse and the EBASCO Overseas Corporation in the early 1980s, in anticipation of opening the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. ¶9. It is unclear that any opportunities exist for U.S. industry until the Korean Electric Power Corporation study is finished. Kenney