PG&E Honors Six Leading Business Partners at Ninth Annual Supplier Awards

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- When 2014 Supplier of the Year INTREN, Inc. started providing Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) with underground and electrical overhead work in 2010, they had a local employee base of 15 people. PG&E's initial spend with this minority woman-owned business enterprise (MWBE) was nearly $2 million.

Four years later, this company now has nearly 90 local people working out of two San Francisco Bay Area offices and PG&E's spend has risen to $32 million.

INTREN was one of six enterprises awarded top honors as one of PG&E's best-performing suppliers at the ninth annual Supplier Awards dinner on Oct. 29. The event, held at PG&E's San Ramon Valley Conference Center, recognizes the companies who work with the utility to deliver safe, reliable and affordable energy to its customers.

PG&E does more than $4 billion of business annually with the 4,300-plus companies in its supply network, ranging from small and medium-sized local firms to larger companies. These businesses provide various services and materials (from power pole replacement and gas pipeline hydrostatic testing to laptop computers) to help PG&E with its needs.The utility's supply relationships represent a major part of its overall contribution to California's state and local economies.

PG&E's partnership with INTREN is an example of the utility's long-standing commitment to supplier diversity. In 2013, PG&E spent a record $2.3 billion with diverse suppliers. Of that amount, $1.5 billion (or 27.4 percent of the total spend) went to minority business enterprises (MBE) and $686.1 million (12.5 percent) was spent with women-owned business enterprises (WBE).

PG&E's focus on supplier diversity has been a major part of the company's overall contribution to California's economy. A study done by the Center for Strategic Economic Research showed PG&E contributed $22.2 billion of economic activity and supported nearly 71,600 jobs in the utility's service area in 2012.

INTREN will also be participating in PG&E's PowerPathway™ program, which is dedicated to ensuring the training and development of the next generation of utility workers.

"We're serious about this mentorship program because we believe in stewardship," said INTREN CEO and Founder Loretta Rosenmayer. "Not only do we give contracts to second-tier businesses, we lend them equipment, help with their IT needs and pay them right away."

"INTREN is a great example of the impact utilities have when they work with small companies and invest in their development," said PG&E Senior Vice President of Safety and Shared Services Des Bell. "Their business is really blossoming. It's a great success story."

Recognizing the Support and Performance of Key Suppliers

Out of PG&E's suppliers, 41 were nominated. Winners were selected based on how they graded in various categories—including safety, quality and continuous improvement.

Accomplishments by the honored suppliers included:

• Completing a fifth straight year without a single lost time incident
• Investing in a well-staffed and formal supplier diversity program
• Energy efficiency solutions resulting in significant reductions in electrical consumption
• Creating cost structures to support the company's focus on affordability

2014 Supplier Award Winners

• 2014 Supplier of the Year: INTREN, Inc.
• 2014 Supplier Diversity Leader of the Year: CH2M HILL
• 2014 Green Supplier of the Year: Richard Heath & Associates, Inc.
• 2014 Small Business Supplier of the Year: Craig Communications
• 2014 Gas Operations Supplier of the Year: Underground Construction Company, Inc.
• 2014 Corporate Supplier of the Year: Slalom Consulting
• 2014 Safety Supplier of the Year: Underground Construction Company, Inc.
• 2014 Electric Operations Supplier of the Year: INTREN, Inc.

Highlights of how each company earned their awards follows this news release.

"We use this event as a way of recognizing the great support and performance we get from our key suppliers and thanking them for their efforts. It's a celebration of the collective work we do and the benefits it provides for PG&E's customers," said Bell.

About PG&E

Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric utilities in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with more than 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation's cleanest energy to nearly 16 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit www.pge.com/ and www.pge.com/en/about/newsroom/index.page.

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SUPPLEMENT TO 2014 SUPPLIER AWARDS NEWS RELEASE
DESCRIPTIONS OF THE AWARD WINNERS

Six companies received awards as Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) honored its top performing suppliers at the ninth annual Supplier Awards on Oct. 29 in San Ramon.

The following is a list of the award winners with a brief description of how they earned their honors.

2014 Supplier of the Year/Electric Operations Supplier of the Year—INTREN

• Achieved highest grading results amongst suppliers within Electric Operations while posting an excellent safety record, being on-time and on-budget and achieving performance partnership goals.

2014 Supplier Diversity Leader of the Year—CH2MHILL

• Earned honors for investing in a well-staffed, formal supplier diversity program. In addition, created partnerships with new diverse subcontractors and had a strong presence at diversity outreach events.

2014 Green Supplier of the Year—Richard Heath and Associates

• Energy efficiency solutions resulted in significant reductions in electric use by consumers, meaning lower energy costs and less carbon dioxide transmitted into the atmosphere.

2014 Small Business Supplier of the Year—Craig Communications

• Created strong partnerships with PG&E's internal partners; supported environmental remediation by using public outreach, education, relationship building and risk management; supported diversity through a well-established mentoring program.

2014 Gas Operations Supplier of the Year—Underground Construction Company, Inc.

• Received a near perfect customer satisfaction score from Gas Operations for their safe and reliable work practices, cost savings, innovative ideas and schedule adherence. Also showed a high spend with women, minority and disabled veteran-owned business enterprises.

2014 Corporate Supplier of the Year—Slalom Consulting

• For more than seven years, has partnered with PG&E to create cost structures to support the company's focus on affordability and on critical infrastructure protection. Also introduced technologies with Customer Care to take billing operations into the cloud.

2014 Safety Supplier of the Year—Underground Construction Company, Inc.

• Just completed a fifth consecutive year without a single lost time incident. Has created a safety culture that encourages awareness through weekly employee submissions of safe acts and near misses. New hires are also required to attend a comprehensive safety orientation.

SOURCE Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E)

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