Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 4) — A US-based company is “seriously considering” building its first nuclear energy facility in Southeast Asia in the Philippines, and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. sees this as a potential way to address power outages in some provinces, Malacañang said Thursday.
In a statement, the Palace said during a meeting with Marcos in Washington, Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation (USNC) showed interest to bring its “clean and reliable” nuclear energy to the Philippines.
“[It’s] probably a very important way for us to enter the market,” its CEO Francesco Venneri said.
“We also note that there’s a great deal of discussion about Mindoro having blackouts and that might be an excellent….a good science [solution],” he added.
In late April, a resolution was filed in the Senate to probe the power crisis in Occidental Mindoro, with Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian saying the problem has been ongoing for years “with no end in sight.”
The province was placed under a state of calamity amid worsening power outages that lasted even 20 hours a day.
Some areas in the Visayas have also been experiencing rotational power interruptions, prompting Marcos to order the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines to immediately address the problem.
