SAN DIEGO, March 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) today announced that the utility achieved its highest level of spend with diverse business enterprises (DBEs) in the history of the company, exceeding the California Public Utilities Commission's (CPUC) diverse spending goal for the eighth year in a row.       

In 2013, SDG&E reported that 44.9 percent of products and services were provided by women, minority, and service-disabled veteran-owned businesses (SDVBEs), with a total of $453 million on purchases.

"In 2013, SDG&E set a new record level of spending with diverse suppliers," said Jeff Martin, CEO of SDG&E. "SDG&E's strong relationship with its diverse suppliers is extremely important to us as a company. These relationships are valued for delivering competitive, high-quality and innovative solutions that also promote business and jobs in the diverse communities we serve."

SDG&E's employees played a key role last year in working hard to more firmly incorporate supplier diversity in SDG&E's procurement process. One example of this dedication is a team of employees who volunteered to be "Supplier Diversity Champions" and lead diverse spending efforts in their respective departments. Additionally, SDG&E's community partners, such as The Council for Supplier Diversity and the Asian Business Association, worked with the utility to increase the effectiveness of technical assistance programs and boost supplier recruitment efforts.

Once again, SDG&E's electric and fuel procurement organization helped propel diverse businesses in power generation. Last year, SDG&E successfully executed three transactions for Resource Adequacy with Diverse Business Enterprises (DBEs) and enabled 14 new DBEs to transact for wholesale power. These remarkable achievements by DBEs nearly doubled energy product spend with diverse suppliers from $77 million in 2012 to $146 million in 2013. SDG&E purchased 47.3 percent of natural gas with nine DBE suppliers in 2013, accomplishing the highest percentage in this category in SDG&E's history.

At SDG&E, the smart grid team continues to advance opportunities for diverse businesses. The goal of 15 percent DBE spend in the emerging smart grid category was surpassed for the second year in a row, with more than 24.1 percent DBE spend on smart grid projects.

SDG&E also continues to focus on supporting San Diego's large veteran community, with $25.6 million spent in 2013 with SDVBEs. In 2014, the SDG&E supplier diversity team aims to continue creating innovative ways to forge strong connections with diverse suppliers for the benefit of SDG&E's customers and the greater community.

SDG&E is a regulated public utility that provides safe and reliable energy service to 3.4 million consumers through 1.4 million electric meters and 861,000 natural gas meters in San Diego and southern Orange counties. The utility's area spans 4,100 square miles. SDG&E is committed to creating ways to help customers save energy and money every day. SDG&E is a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), a Fortune 500 energy services holding company based in San Diego. Connect with SDG&E's Customer Contact Center at 800-411-7343, on Twitter (@SDGE) and Facebook.

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SOURCE San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E)