Filipinos got a stark reminder of just how bad our power generation capabilities are when the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) placed the Luzon grid under yellow, then red alert, which meant there was a real danger of not having enough electricity to go around, which usually resulted in rotating brownouts. That thankfully did not happen yesterday, but the NGCP’s sudden warning makes it pretty clear that the country isn’t generating enough power for our growing economy. But there is one possible solution to the Philippines’ energy woes: nuclear energy.

Before we talk about that though, we need to understand why we’re not getting enough power and the possible reasons why supply drops. In yesterday’s case, it was a combination of forced outages and lower power generating capacities. Forced outages are common for many of the power plants in Luzon, as a lot of them are pretty old. Our hydro, geothermal, and oil plants are several decades old, and only coal-fired plants (except the one in Calaca) are relatively new. Angat Dam, for example, first started operations in 1967.

The older power plants get, the more maintenance they require, and whenever these plants undergo maintenance (either planned or unplanned) they stop generating power.

Aside from age, our power plants in Luzon are also relatively dirty – aside from the 6 big hydropower plants, we get a large majority of our power from coal, oil, and natural gas-powered plants. These generate large amounts of greenhouse gases that are ejected into the atmosphere which is a massive problem because it contributes to the accelerated rate of global warming. Our country is more susceptible to the effects of climate change, and it’s in our best interest to cut greenhouse production as much as we can.

This leads us to nuclear energy. Yes, there are risks involved in nuclear power, but statistically, nuclear energy is one of the cleanest power sources available to mankind at this moment. As much as the doomsayers want to parade the horrors of Chornobyl and Fukushima to anyone that would care to listen, the numbers don’t lie: there have been 18,500 cumulative reactor years of commercial nuclear power operation in 36 countries, and aside from the two above, there has been no major nuclear incident that has resulted in either radioactive contamination of the plant’s surroundings or loss of life directly related to power generation activities. And yes, that includes Three Mile Island.

Nuclear energy is demonstrably as safe as wind and solar energy while providing far more power than similarly-sized clean energy alternatives.

That being said, I understand the public’s hesitation when it comes to nuclear energy, especially considering the mothballed, highly expensive white elephant Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. But that failure shouldn’t color nuclear power in the modern age – modern nuclear reactors are incredibly safe, and the world has learned much from the failures of Fukushima. We should let the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant die already, as there’s too much emotional and fiscal baggage involved in it to effectively bring it up to snuff in the modern age. There are other places where we can build a nuclear power plant.

If the Philippines does harness nuclear energy, it would be a massive boost for the economy. It would reduce our dependence on imported fuels like coal and oil, and more importantly, reduce the price of electricity massively. Right now our country has one of the highest electricity prices in Asia: according to the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), Studies have shown that electricity rates for residential, commercial, and industrial sectors in the Philippines have been significantly higher from between 25% to as high as 87% than its Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) neighbors, namely Malaysia (87.5%), Indonesia (87.5%), Vietnam (50%) and Thailand (36%). Only Japan and Singapore have higher power generation rates.

If we want cheaper, cleaner, and more dependable power sources, maybe it’s time to take a good hard look at giving the Philippines nuclear power. We’ve already made steps in this regard – here’s to hoping the government actually follows through this time.