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Maryland utility forum files standard MOU; commissioner and public push for HUBZone reporting
Summary
The Maryland Utility Forum filed a proposed uniform supplier‑diversity MOU for PSC consideration and recommended adding HUBZone as a separate reporting category; the PSC signaled it will review the filing and consider HUBZone inclusion following public comments urging state adoption.
The Maryland Utility Forum and several signatory utilities told the Public Service Commission that they have filed a uniform memorandum of understanding intended to replace the multiple versions of MOUs signed by regulated companies and to incorporate changes adopted informally over the years.
Jeff Trout, counsel to the Maryland Utility Forum, told the commission the Forum filed a single, uniform MOU in January that incorporates additions such as LGBTQ goals and tier‑2 spend reporting and is intended to make signatory status simpler for cooperatives, associations and corporations. “It is our understanding that that is an issue which you will consider in your work on this year’s determination,” Trout said.
Valerie Shearer, chairperson of the Maryland Utility Forum, described the Forum’s consensus and said the group is awaiting PSC direction. Shearer also recommended including HUBZone certified firms as a separate category that would be tracked in addition to existing socioeconomic categories; the Forum proposed cross‑reporting rules so a firm that is both minority and HUBZone would be reported in the appropriate racial/gender category and separately as HUBZone.
Public commenters pressed the commission to adopt HUBZone reporting. Michelle Burnett, executive director of the HUBZone Contractors National Council, argued the federal HUBZone program focuses on community‑level economic development and said state tracking or adoption could prioritize hiring and job creation in distressed areas; Wayne Frazier Sr. (Maryland Washington Minority Companies Association) echoed the jobs argument from a local perspective.
Why it matters: adding HUBZone as a tracked category would create new reporting obligations and change how utilities present procurement data; it also raises practical questions about certification and double counting that the Forum proposed to address through cross‑reporting rules.
Next steps: PSC staff said it will review the Forum’s filing and comments as part of the commission’s upcoming determination. The commission did not adopt changes at the hearing but acknowledged the issue and requested additional staff review and potential modifications to the MOU before final action.
