SAN DIEGO–(PRNewswire)–In March, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) reported that the company achieved the highest level of spending with diverse businesses in the company’s history. In 2016, SDG&E purchased 43 percent, or nearly $619 million, of goods and services from diverse suppliers.
This also marks the fourth consecutive year that SDG&E’s supplier diversity spending surpassed 40 percent, far exceeding the California Public Utilities Commission’s goal of 21.5 percent.
The company’s supplier diversity efforts are a cornerstone of SDG&E’s efforts to create a culture that promotes different perspectives, backgrounds and experiences in an inclusive and respectful manner. Diverse Business Enterprises (DBE) includes women, minority, service-disabled veteran, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender owned businesses.
“We believe this culture not only produces better business decisions, it represents our customers, suppliers, and the communities we serve,” said Denita Willoughby, SDG&E’s vice president, supply management & logistics. “Every supplier must align with our mission, to improve our communities, by creating value through helping us reduce costs, drive innovation, reduce risk, and improve safety.”
SDG&E believes that partnering with diverse businesses – creating more opportunities for them to grow and thrive – is driving the community’s economy and generating new jobs.
DBE-certified businesses have played a key role in advancing SDG&E efforts to build the cleanest, safest, most reliable energy company in America. 2016 Highlights include:
- The Fire Risk Mitigation Project (FiRM) improves reliability and integrity of the electric system in fire-prone areas. The FiRM project included a more than 77 percent DBE spend.
- SDG&E’s San Luis Rey Synchronous Condenser Project added two large condensers at the San Luis Rey Substation to increase reliability and improve stability of the power grid. This project posted exceptional results of 62.5 percent in DBE spend.
- The Pipeline Safety Enhancement Plan (PSEP) program, which pressure tests pipeline sections and upgrades, and replaces or retrofits pipe and valves as needed, achieved 39.7 percent DBE spend. This program ensures customers, employees and communities have safe, reliable natural gas for their homes and businesses.
