San Jose Water Launches Joint Initiative To Drive Inclusion In Procurement

June 26, 2012 - PRLog -- 2012 California’s Public Utility Commission’s General Order 156 established goals and rules, governing the development of programs to increase participation of women, minority and service-disabled veteran business enterprises, (W/M/SDVBEs) in procurement by utilities.

General Order 156 applies to all gas, electric, and telephone utilities with gross annual revenues exceeding $25,000,000 and their commission-regulated subsidiaries and affiliates to submit annual detailed and verifiable plans for increasing women, minority and disabled veteran business enterprises' (WMDVBE) procurement in all categories.
Many companies have not successfully met the goal for doing business with SDVOB’s a challenge faced for decades.  Cher Brandt the President of Northern California Elite Chapter stated, “We are excited about the opportunities the Elite 5 program has with San Jose Water. The Elite 5 Program will help Disabled Veteran Businesses develop a relationship with a utility. We are looking at this program to create a process we hope will be the beginning for business development activities for Veterans”.

Leadership of the Northern California Chapter developed the idea to create the Elite 5 Initiative as a strategy to bring viable solutions to move the mark and increase contracting with service disabled veterans.  A common issue faced is the fact that most utilities use the same companies they have been working with for years, and many of the business that are receiving contracts are working for most if not all the utilities.  There are limited contracts that are awarded to new companies who are not currently doing business with these regulated firms.

Lavelle Jones, Vice President of the group stated, “We are very excited that San Jose Water continues to seek solutions.  Many companies lack a workable plan to find qualified SDVOB’s”.  

The Northern California Chapter of the Elite SDVOB Network’s leadership will request that the results of the Elite 5 Initiative be added to the agenda for the CPUC’s annual En Banc Hearing in October 2012, as a model to truly drive diversity and inclusion.
The Elite SDVOB Network is a national organization comprised of certified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Businesses whose headquarters is located in San Diego, CA. The Elite SDVOB Network is incorporated as a 501(c)19 organization.

Learn more by visiting http://www.elite-norcal.org/

Contact: Cher Brandt, President
Northern California Chapter Elite SDVOB Network
cbrandt@combinedeffortdvbe.com
Cell: (209) 552-5787
Fax: (800) 540-1789