Supplier Diversity Program

Our program monitors supplier diversity in procurement by utilities and covered entities, as well as oversees a clearinghouse of women; minority; lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT); disabled veteran; and persons with disabilities business enterprises. GO 156 provides voluntary procurement goals of 15% from minority business enterprises (MBE), 5% from women business enterprises (WBE),1.5% from disabled veteran business enterprises (DVBE), and from LGBT business enterprises (LGBTBE),1.0% for 2023, and 1.5% for 2024 and beyond.

Our clearinghouse operator verifies the status of suppliers seeking certification as women, minority, LGBT, and/or persons with disabilities business. Disabled veteran businesses are certified by the Office of Small Business and Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise Services (OSDS), a unit of the Department of General Services. View the most recent update to the public version of our supplier database.

In October 2019, Senate Bill (SB) 255 (Bradford, Chapter 407, 2019) updated CPUC's Supplier Diversity Program by amending Sections 366.2 and 8283 of the Public Utilities Code. The Bill:

• Changed the participation requirement threshold from $25,000,000 annual gross revenue to $25,000,000 gross annual California revenues;
• Extended the requirements to electric service providers; 
• Required electrical corporations, gas corporations, water corporations, wireless telecommunications service providers, electric service providers, and telephone corporations with gross annual California revenues exceeding $15,000,000, but not more than $25,000,000, to annually submit data on procurement from women, minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT business enterprises (WMDVLGBTBE);
• Required community choice aggregators (CCA) with gross annual revenues exceeding $15,000,000 to annually submit a detailed and verifiable plan for increasing procurement from small, local, and diverse business enterprises; and a report regarding procurement from WMDVLGBTBEs; and
• Encouraged exempt wholesale generators selling electricity to retail sellers, distributed energy resource contractors, energy storage system companies, and exempt CCAs to voluntarily adopt a plan for increasing WMDVLGBTBE procurement and to voluntarily report activity in this area.  

Decision (D.) 22-04-035 revised General Order 156 (CPUC Supplier Diversity Program) to implement SB 255, adopt a voluntary procurement goal for LGBT business enterprises, incorporate persons with disabilities business enterprises, and include other updates.