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Cezar John Estrada: Research Geek Extraordinaire leads WeGen’s Policy Group


If the United Space Ship (USS Enterprise) has Spock for a science officer, WeGen Distributed Energy has Cezar John Estrada -- the Business Development Department’s Manager for Industry Relations and Research. A licensed electrical engineer, Cezar worked at the Department of Energy as a Science Research Specialist for almost three years before joining WeGen. To say that Cezar is a certified research geek is exact – he is a voracious reader of information that specifically relates to developments in the power industry, breakthroughs in electricity and renewable energy technology, and policies on the both.


“I am a firm believer in the importance of promoting research and education when it comes to policies and developments that have direct or even indirect impact on the welfare of Filipinos as consumers of products and services. An important factor to ensure genuine economic progress is to educate people: to ensure that they have access to information; that they can actually use the information to increase their options so they can improve their quality of life,” he said.


“It’s also crucial for them to know that it is their right to have information – correct, timely, relevant information that they need to make intelligent decisions for themselves, their families, and for society,” he said.

This is also why Cezar has also been emboldened to create Energy Intel Ph (EIP) – a digital initiative created primarily to advocate energy literacy among Filipinos. As a multi-faceted industry, EIP aims to provide an accessible and interactive platform where a common citizen can gain knowledge and other value-adding information about the energy sector may it be thru bite-size infographics, AVPs, and even policy analysis and recommendations. Harnessing the power of social media, EIP envisions an empowered citizenry that is aware of the dynamics of the energy sector, how it impacts their daily lives, and what actions they can do for its further improvement.




He launched EIP as an FB page in May. In the beginning, he was the sole person managing the page, but after a few weeks, he asked other friends who are also into research and development to contribute to it. The page, Cezar explained, is also his way of better using his weekends now that he –like everyone else – can’t leave the house. As of the time of posting, the page has already gathered over 7k followers.


“You could also say maintaining the page is also my way of dealing with stress over the pandemic,” he said. Yes—where others try out new recipes or do yoga, or play musical instruments, Cezar reads academic and policy papers regarding the power industry, etc. and makes explainer videos or infographics.


Living alone and away from the rest of his family who are in Bicol (his parents and elder brother-- an architect-- are there, while his elder sister, also an engineer is based here in the NCR), Cezar’s free time is spent on Energy Intel PH or on watching series/anime like “Lucifer,” “Seven Deadly Sins,”, “Black Clover”, “Sword Art Online, “Money Heist” and “Shingeki No Kyojin”.


The Policy TWG

When Cezar joined WeGen in November 2018, the company did not have a unit focused on monitoring policies, programs, and laws that govern or affect the power industry, industry players, and end-users of consumers. This was the work of WeGen Legal Department which even then was heavily loaded and whose members performed many tasks to ensure WeGen’s corporate identity, contracts, agreements, etc were all in order and protected.


“Monitoring policy developments is a full-time task that is necessary for institutions and corporations that are serious in making a difference. Keeping track of proposed laws, rulings, and regulations released by Congress and the executive agencies concerned with the country’s power industry’s workings is important. WeGen knows this, so last year it established the Policy Technical Working group (Policy TWG),” he explained.


As head of the Policy TWG, Cezar led the crafting of the unit’s declared objectives to ensure that they support both WeGen’s business objectives as well as its goals to contribute to social transformation efforts. These, Cezar explained, will be done through the following actions:

• establishing relationships with the major energy industry stakeholders;

• aligning WeGen’s business strategies to existing legislative, policy, or regulatory issuances;

• implementing plans to effectively involve stakeholders in WeGen’s new products in order to gain support for its development, and to anticipate resistance, conflict, or competing objectives with other stakeholders; and

• facilitate the integration of WeGen’s stance to new legislative, policy, and regulatory developments.


Cezar and the rest of the Policy TWG team already have their work cut for them as they have already determined several concerns for analysis and focus of advocacy and/or possible lobbying efforts. Pre-COVID19, the five other members of the team coming from the Business Development Department, Legal, Operations, Social Transformation, and Marketing met once a month to determine actions to take on policy developments Cezar has monitored.


“It’s really compelling work for me, and the more I learn, the more I want to share the information and if and when needed, act on it. The Philippine power industry and specifically the renewable energy sector still have a very long way to go in terms of developing and implementing a genuinely consumer-centered approach (as opposed to the current grid-centered approach). It should not just be up to the government to do this – the private sector should also be involved in developing policies, and take an active role in crafting and implementing those policies that will not just help business players generate profit, but importantly help Filipinos gain or improve access to electricity,” he said.


Cezar further explained that WeGen itself works hard to promote RE and solar energy as the safest, most viable alternative to fossil-fuel energy sources. “This is why we also engage with other companies and institutions in the power industry so we can gather insight, keep abreast of issues, and ensure that we are not left behind when it comes to what’s happening in the industry,” he said.


Policy and Advocacy

Among the many things Cezar has learned from all his research and his role as one of WeGen’s lead representatives when it comes to industry-related policy discussions is the need to further improve information, education, and communication campaigns to better inform the end-users of the availability of an alternative option of energy supply, such as Solar.


“Professionalization in the RE industry is very important because we are pushing for RE as the correct and urgent alternative. We have to continually exert effort to prove that RE is the way to go – that it is the way to a better, cleaner, sustainable future. Solar energy and solar technology, for instance, are still not very familiar to many communities – including some Distribution Utilities, who still need capacity-building activities in order to further understand and accept RE into their systems. The profit motive is, of course, very important, but they think making the transition to solar energy and RE will be hard. We have to prove that the benefits of RE are myriad, and they go beyond generating clean profit from clean energy sources, but also helping protect the environment, lessening dependence on destructive-dirty fuel sources, and ensuring a better way of life for the Filipinos” he said.


So on behalf of WeGen’s head research officer, we say this: Live Long and Prosper!

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