Maryland PSC and utilities sign uniform MOU to standardize supplier‑diversity reporting

Chair Fred Hoover of the Maryland Public Service Commission and representatives from participating utilities signed a uniform memorandum of understanding to standardize supplier‑diversity reporting across the state.

The ceremonial signing, held at Baltimore Gas and Electricʼs Energy Hall during the Harold D. Williams supplier‑diversity hearing, aims to create a single reporting process for all participating utilities and to incorporate recent program expansions — including HUBZone, veteran‑owned and LGBTQ‑owned businesses — into a common template. Brett Spirole, a PSC advisor who emceed the ceremony, called utilities to the table in alphabetical order for the signing.

The MOU consolidates multiple utility agreements and establishes consistent data reporting so the Commission can review whether utilities meet established aspirational goals. Chair Fred Hoover, introducing the signing, said, “It creates a uniform process for reporting the data and allows us to review the actions made by the utilities to make sure that folks are meeting the goals that we have established for that.”

Commission staff framed the MOU as an administrative tool to ensure comparability year to year. The document explicitly recognizes seven categories of diverse suppliers used in PSC reporting: racial‑ and ethnic‑minority, women, veteran, service‑disabled‑veteran, nonprofit, HUBZone and LGBTQ enterprises. The uniform MOU also clarifies reporting responsibilities by supplier tier (direct Tier‑1 versus subcontracted Tier‑2 spend).

Representatives from numerous utilities were invited to sign during the ceremony; the emcee called the Association of Maryland Pilots, Baltimore Gas and Electric, CenturyLink, Chesapeake Utilities, Choptank Electric Cooperative, Comcast, Maryland American Water, Potomac Edison, Pepco, Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative, Verizon and Washington Gas Light, among others. The ceremony was described as streamlined and ceremonial; the Commission noted utility participants who could not attend would be sent the MOU for signature.

The signing follows staffʼs presentation of the 2023 supplier‑diversity report, which showed more than 40% statewide average diverse spend and more than $2 billion in diverse procurement. Commissioners and speakers at the event emphasized that the MOU preserves the programʼs voluntary, collaborative character while giving the PSC a standard metric for oversight.

The Commission did not announce enforcement penalties tied to the MOU at the ceremony; officials said the first steps are consistent reporting and continued partnership between the PSC and utilities. The Commission said it will publish the uniform MOU and update reporting templates in the PC 52 docket for interested stakeholders.