​BALTIMORE (May 25, 2018) – BGE was recognized for its commitment to improve business diversity and inclusion by the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), receiving their 35^th Annual Excellence Award during the 2018 Business Diversity Awards yesterday.

"We are honored to be recognized by the Edison Electric Institute for our work to increase engagement with diverse suppliers. This is significant because it helps us serve our customers better and also strengthens our community," said Calvin G. Butler Jr., chief executive officer for BGE. "As we've grown our network of suppliers, BGE has recorded its best performance in reliability, safety, financials and customer satisfaction. It's an investment worth making and I would strongly encourage other companies join our efforts."

Diversity and inclusion is a core foundational value for BGE and its parent company, Exelon, in the workplace and in the community. Exelon has increased spending with diverse suppliers by more than 200 percent since 2011, reaching $1.98 billion in 2017, when it was inducted into the Billion Dollar Roundtable for excellence in supplier diversity.

BGE purchased $283 million in goods and services from diversity-certified suppliers in 2017, which equates to 29 percent of total purchases. This is an increase of $26 million over the amount spent in 2016.

EEI highlighted BGE's partnerships with government agencies and outreach initiatives that help diverse suppliers competitively bid for contract opportunities. In 2009, BGE voluntarily committed to the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) to allocate 25 percent of company spending with diverse suppliers. To help meet this goal, BGE created the Focus Forward supplier diversity academy to educate small businesses on large business processes and offer insight on the competitive bid process.  Since 2013, 29 companies have completed the program and 13 are currently enrolled.

###

BGE, founded in 1816 as the nation's first gas utility and headquartered in Baltimore, is Maryland's largest natural gas and electric utility. The company's approximately 3,200 employees are committed to safe and reliable power delivery to more than 1.25 million electric customers and more than 650,000 natural gas customers in central Maryland, as well as enhanced energy management, conservation, environmental stewardship and community assistance. J.D. Power's 2017 Electric Utility Business Customer Satisfaction Study ^SM ranked BGE highest in customer satisfaction with business electric service in the east among large utilities. The company also has an estimated annual economic impact of $5 billion of output in its service area, supporting more than 9,500 local jobs and producing $923 million in labor income. BGE is a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), the nation's leading competitive energy provider. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter, YouTube  and Flickr.

​