No brownouts during May polls, govt assures

There will be no brownouts during the conduct of the first ever nationwide automated elections in May, a Malacañang official said on Sunday. Deputy presidential spokesman Gary Olivar said the assurance came from Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes, whom he said have been meeting with power distributors nationwide to ensure adequate power supply until the election period ends in June. “They would take steps to make sure there will be no red, or even yellow, alert during the elections," he said. He said the scenario of a possible election failure due to power interruptions is being painted by government critics to undermine the Arroyo administration. Olivar also said no formal proposal has been submitted to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo regarding the conversion of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant to increase the country’s energy supply. A feasibility study conducted by the Korean Electric Power Corp. (Kepco) showed that rehabilitating the moth-balled BNPP will cost around $1 billion. The National Power Corp. might come up with a recommendation by March. The BNPP was put up by former president Ferdinand Marcos in response to the energy crisis in the 1970s. Construction began in 1976 and the plant was completed in 1984 at a cost of $2.3 billion. The Aquino administration junked the plant over safety concerns and alleged graft that attended the project. The Aquino administration subsequently lost a suit alleging overpricing and graft against Westinghouse, supplier of the nuclear plant, and Burns and Roe, contractor, in New Jersey. - KBK, GMANews.TV