CPUC Supplier Diversity Program Helps Small and Diverse Businesses Thrive While Supporting Reliable and Affordable Utility Service

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) regulates some of the largest industries in the state – from energy to telecommunications. Through its General Order 156 Supplier Diversity program, the CPUC helps ensure that utilities in these industries bring economic prosperity to the communities they serve and direct opportunity to small businesses. This is not only an economic development strategy, but one that enables least-cost, competitive pricing in utility procurement that translates into lower costs for customers.  

In the CPUC’s General Order (GO) 156, utilities are encouraged to procure at least 23 percent of their goods and services with diverse businesses, including businesses that are majority women; minority-owned; LGBTQ-owned, person with disability-owned, or veteran-owned. Qualified businesses become GO 156-certified through the CPUC and are then added to a Supplier Clearinghouse database.  

The CPUC’s Supplier Clearinghouse consists of 12,000 diverse firms, helping to connect them with utility contracting opportunities. Roughly 82 percent of firms in the CPUC’s clearinghouse meet the state’s definition of small business! 

“This program brings economic opportunity to all California communities” said Stephanie Green, Supervisor for Business and Community Outreach at the CPUC, which oversees the CPUC’s Small Business Program and the Supplier Diversity Program. “The Supplier Diversity program is about creating real jobs for real businesses in communities where we live, helping California’s economy grow and thrive.” For utilities, this means reinvesting ratepayer dollars into the communities they serve.  

In 2025, more than 3,400 businesses obtained opportunities through the Supplier Diversity program, with utilities reporting over $13 billion in spending with diverse suppliers.  

The program offers direct benefits across California’s economy:  

• Boosts Economic Growth: By engaging small and diverse suppliers, businesses contribute to local economies, which strengthens California’s economic fabric.  
• Generates Cost Savings: Through expansion of supplier options, companies can increase competition, leading to better pricing and service agreements, and translating to lower costs for customers.  
• Drives Innovation: Diverse suppliers often bring fresh perspectives, unique solutions, and innovative approaches, which can lend themselves to supporting the state’s transition to clean energy. Growing opportunities for small firms exist in areas such as grid modernization, electric vehicle charging, AI integration, and wildfire mitigation. 
• Supports Job Creation: Supporting diverse suppliers leads to job creation, particularly in underrepresented communities, helping to reduce unemployment and close wealth gaps. 
• Strengthens Supply Chains: A diverse supplier base reduces dependency on a limited number of vendors, making supply chains more resilient and adaptable to disruptions. 

The CPUC undertakes a number of outreach efforts to help connect small and diverse businesses to utility procurement opportunities, including biannual Small Business Expos and an annual GO 156 Supplier Diversity En Banc. This year, the Small Business Expo will take place on September 30 and the En Banc on October 1.  

The CPUC’s 2025 Small Business Expoon October 7, 2025, in Carson.

The CPUC’s 2025 Supplier Diversity En Banc on October 8, 2025, in Carson.

As California’s energy and infrastructure needs grow, the Supplier Diversity Program plays a critical role in ensuring that it delivers economic opportunity for small and diverse businesses, while driving innovative, competitive, and low-cost outcomes for utilities that provide essential services to Californians.  

By Liza Martin, Public Information Officer