On Thursday, October 10, 2024, Ben Garcia, CEO of Precision Services Unit (PSU), took the stage as a featured panelist at the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) Supplier Diversity En Banc, held in Riverside, CA. This annual event serves as a vital platform for highlighting the role of supplier diversity in the procurement activities of utilities and covered entities throughout the state.
The Supplier Diversity En Banc program is a significant initiative of the CPUC, tasked with monitoring and promoting diverse procurement practices. The program ensures that utilities and covered entities actively engage minority, service-disabled veteran, women, and LGBT-owned business enterprises (MWBEs, DVBE, WBE, and LGBTBE, respectively). Through its Clearinghouse, the CPUC provides certification and reporting oversight, helping to level the playing field for historically underrepresented businesses in California.
Garcia’s inclusion on the panel provided a unique perspective as a micro, service-disabled veteran, and minority-owned business owner. His company, Precision Services Unit, specializes in providing construction equipment rentals, procurement, safety, quality control, quality assurance, and fuel card management services to various clients in the civil construction sector.
During his remarks, Garcia emphasized the challenges and opportunities facing micro businesses like PSU within the broader ecosystem of supplier diversity. He highlighted the importance of fostering strong partnerships between diverse businesses and major utilities to promote inclusive growth and innovation in the industry. Garcia’s experience as a service-disabled veteran further underscored the significance of expanding opportunities for veteran-owned enterprises in key sectors like construction and utilities.
The 2024 CPUC Supplier Diversity En Banc proved to be a productive forum for dialogue and exchange, with Garcia’s insights contributing to the broader conversation about how businesses like PSU can thrive while advancing supplier diversity in the state’s utility sector.