(Taguig City) In order to secure the efficiency of all existing power assets in the country, the Department of Energy (DOE) and Secretary Carlos Jericho L. Petilla acknowledge the importance of our plant maintenance.

Accordingly this weekend, July 12-13, 2014, the 1,200MW Ilijan combined-cycle power plant in Batangas will be on a scheduled plant maintenance to inspect the current state of its pipelines, known as the “pigging” process.

The procedure also intends to eliminate accumulated deposits, which affect the overall productivity of the facility. The pigging process, which is named after the “pigs”, or the devices and instruments used for the method will clean the nearly 15-kilometer pipeline, which originates from the Malampaya platform. The Ilijan Power Plant is operated by Kepco Philippines Inc.

Sec. Petilla on a press briefing said that the pigging could no longer be rescheduled, as the equipments for the process are not readily available. He also stressed that the maintenance of these power facilities will be advantageous to the growing demands of the nation especially that the Ilijan Plant is one of the three natural gas plants supplying 30-40 percent of Luzon’s energy requirements.

“We have the equipments ready, so might as well do it as scheduled… we can’t risk resetting the pigging as there are other power plants that are scheduled for maintenance. Doing so might just aggravate our current energy situation.” Said Sec. Petilla during the interview with the press.

He further noted that the DOE would closely monitor all the activities during the pigging and coordinate with all concerned energy agencies and companies.