California Public Utilities Commission expands Supplier Diversity Program

CA News - Published Apr 14, 2022

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is expanding its Supplier Diversity Program. The new changes involve including a number of new business categories, updating reporting requirements, and bringing smaller utility entities into the fold of the Supplier Diversity program.

The new decision to expand the Program establishes setting concrete procurement goals for LGBT-owned business enterprises (LGBTBEs). The goal will start at 0.5 percent for 2022, rise to 1 percent for 2023, and rise further to 1.5 percent for 2024. A variety of outreach efforts to LGBTBEs are planned to help meet these goals. Additionally, disability-owned businesses are being include in the Program. No participation goals for such businesses have been set yet but are planned to be set three years from now.

The decision also requires utilities and other entities under the jurisdiction of the program to report on their workforce and board diversity, and authorizes CPUC to bring Community Choice Aggregators (CCAs) and Electric Service Providers (ESPs), among other smaller investor-owned utilities, under the jurisdiction of the Supplier Diversity Program, for purposes of goal-setting and the like.

"The Supplier Diversity Program is an important tool through which we can leverage the economic power of the utility sector to address historic inequities for economic opportunity," said CPUC President Alice Busching Reynolds in a statement.

Read the press release from CPUC at https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/news-and-updates/all-news/cpuc-expands-supplier-diversity-program-to-encourage-diversity-and-inclusion-within-utility-industry.