ICC Holds Third Annual Supplier Diversity Policy Session

ICC Holds Third Annual Supplier Diversity Policy Session

CHICAGO – The Illinois Commerce Commission hosted its third annual supplier diversity policy session recently with a focus on encouraging Illinois utilities to work with more diverse businesses, including those owned by minorities, women, and veterans. All five ICC Commissioners were in attendance, and Commissioners Miguel del Valle, Sherina Maye Edwards and John Rosales led the session.

Participants included State Representative William Davis (D-30), Ralph G. Moore, president of RGMA; John Rogers, Jr., chairman and chief executive officer, Ariel Investments; Gloria Castillo, president and chief executive officer of Chicago United, Anne Pramaggiore, president and chief executive officer of Commonwealth Edison; Charles Matthews, president of Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas; Bruce Hauk, president of Illinois American Water; and Melvin Williams, president of Nicor Gas.

The Commission supports the goal of Public Act 97-1041 to increase the participation of women, minority and veteran business enterprises in procurement contracts with regulated entities. At the session, the Commission reviewed Illinois utilities’ compliance with Section 5-117 of the Public Utilities Act, which requires regulated gas, electric and water utilities with 100,000 customers or more to annually report procurement goals and actual spend for minority-owned, women-owned, veteran-owned and small businesses.

Each utility presented an overview of its actual spend in 2015 with women-owned, minority-owned and veteran-owned businesses, as well as goals for future procurement opportunities. The participants also highlighted current outreach programs designed to identify, promote and increase engagement with diverse businesses. The utilities’ reports can be found here on the ICC’s website.

“Illinois’ utility infrastructure and industries in electricity, gas, and water are going through a transformation, and this means there is more opportunity for the utilities and diverse suppliers,” Commissioner del Valle said. “I want to see more ambitious goals and efforts to increase opportunities for diverse suppliers in all (of the utilities) projects. This requires the utilities to be more aggressive and willing to go beyond their comfort zone in terms of their efforts to identify and grow the pool of diverse vendors in all product and service categories,” del Valle added.

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