PICKING up where I left off on Thursday ("Nuclear energy, because it's there," March 23), in the session on nuclear power at the Philippine Electric Power Industry Forum 2023 this past Monday, National Scientist and UP economist Dr. Raul V. Fabella tackled the subject of the actual necessity for nuclear energy in the Philippines, which is something his fellow panelists seemed to be taking great pains to avoid. It soon became clear why that was so because the short version of this story is that, at least at this point in the Philippines' development, there is no necessity. As a matter of fact, the more likely outcomes of a foray into nuclear energy by the Philippines would be what has been experienced elsewhere, including unjustifiable costs, higher energy prices and possibly social and safety risks.

Dr. Fabella cut through the noise surrounding the subject of nuclear energy to pose (and then answer) the fundamental question underlying all the Philippines' energy needs. The Philippines has the highest electricity costs among all the Asean countries except for Singapore, Fabella pointed out, and when efficiency and reliability are factored in (an interesting mental exercise I plan to try in the next few days), the Philippines' power costs are almost certainly higher. This has led to, on the one hand, a retarding factor in investment and economic development, as any sort of energy-intensive enterprise would be more sensibly located in almost any other neighboring country, and, on the other hand, it has led to widespread energy poverty. Energy poverty is defined in slightly different ways depending on which source one consults, but in general means a lack of access to modern energy supply, which can mean either a literal lack of any access at all, or electricity that is only accessible at the cost of a significant proportion of one's income and compels one to compromise on other needs in order to afford it.

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