WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Wednesday, February 15^th, the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) will host the 2023 Hispanics in Energy Legislative Summit for national leaders, senior DoE officials, and energy partners to discuss opportunities that promote job growth and lower energy costs for Hispanic business owners. Commissioner Lea Márquez Peterson will discuss her experience convening an annual Supplier Diversity Summit that plays a key role in bridging best-practice procurement strategies for local small business owners resulting in lowering barriers for entrepreneurs in energy.

Participants will learn more about key DoE programs, collaborative opportunities, and engage with Commissioner Márquez Peterson on the role that Utility Commissions play in promoting Hispanic business contracting by implementing policies that guide competitive bid submission, support growth and development of Hispanic-owned businesses, and offer mentorship and networking opportunities to create a reliable vendor network in Arizona.

An effective way of boosting Arizona’s economic output is through the Supplier Diversity Summit hosted at the Arizona Corporation Commission over the past two years. Participants attended the most recent event in the Fall of 2022 with the support of chambers of commerce and regional trade organizations throughout the state. Minority-owned, women-owned, and veteran-owned business owners interacted with 14 different utilities to build awareness and to ensure they are included in diversity initiatives.  The Commissioner’s office summarized the data collected on the utilities progress on a Supplier Diversity Dashboard which can be accessed at 2022supplierdiversitydata.pdf (azcc.gov)

On February 15^th, 2023, a panel featuring Commissioner Márquez Peterson will be held during the Hispanics in Energy Legislative Summit and moderated by Martín Montes of Barns & Thornburg, LLC at 3:30 p.m. (ET). The Commissioner will be joined by Odogwu Obi Linton, Commissioner of the Maryland Public Service Commission and Alice Reynolds, President of the California Public Utilities Commission.