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Hello Small Businesses:
We’re pleased to announce an exciting opportunity hosted by Pacific Gas and Electric Company and Well Fargo Bank.
The Economic Summit Access to Capital Market and Resources for Small Business will take place on October 18th from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM PT.
This webinar will cover:
- Examining economic and financial topics affecting consumers and communities
- Provide guidance on accessing capital and financial products tailored to small businesses
- Describing development resources available for small business (training and business
- development)
- Talking with small businesses experienced in doing business with corporations.
The link to register for the event is provided on the enclosed pdf here: Economy Summit, Access to Capital, Market and Resources for Small Businesses
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PG&E is seeking bids for the following:
Opportunity Announcement Type: RFA – Request for Abstract
Title: Micro and Small Business Equity-based Energy Efficiency Program
Estimated Contract Value: $7.5 Million
Deadline: Registration of Interest: September 1, 2021, 3:00p.m. PDT
Website: Upcoming PG&E Bid Opportunities
Description:
The purpose of this Contract Opportunity Announcement (COA) is to notify potential Bidders of PG&E’s need to implement a future equity-based program.
Pursuant to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC or the Commission) Decision (D.) 18-05-041 – Decision Addressing Energy Efficiency (EE) Business Plans (EE Business Plans), PG&E is seeking abstracts from prospective Third-Party (3P) EE Implementers (Bidder(s)) to design, propose, and implement EE programs and/or services (3P Programs) to establish a new portfolio of 3P Programs by 2022. PG&E’s new 3P EE Program portfolio will be outsourced to comply with requirements and timeline established in the EE Business Plans. In CPUC Decision 21-05-031, Assessment of Energy Efficiency Potential and Goals and Modification of Portfolio Approval and Oversight Process, directed PG&E to segment the EE program portfolios, into programs whose primary purposes are resource acquisition, market support, or equity.
Within the first 2 weeks of September, PG&E plans to issue a Request for Abstracts (RFA) for PG&E’s first equity-based EE program (Equity Programs) under its new portfolio structure. D. 21-05-031 identifies Equity Programs primary purpose as providing EE opportunities to hard-to-reach or underserved customers and disadvantaged communities to advance the Commission’s Environmental and Social Justice Action Plan. The requirements for this Equity Program will focus on effective program activities and customer engagement, in contrast to past resource programs with a focus on claimable energy savings.
In accordance with D.18-01-004, the Micro and Small Business Equity Program will follow a 2-stage solicitation process, with interested Bidders participating in a Request for Abstract (RFA) and shortlisted Bidders invited to participate in the Request for Proposal (RFP). As an equity program, bidders will not be required to perform or submit Cost Effectiveness Tool (CET) analysis as part of this process.
Respond To:
PowerAdvocate (see attached COA document for instructions)
Additional Questions Contact:
Paula Paschal via PowerAdvocate link:
https://www.poweradvocate.com/pR.do?okey=118081&pubEvent=true
(once registered for this bid event)
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Greetings to SBUA members and supporters of small business
Small Business Utility Advocates — SBUA — sends you this update re the Public Utility Commission proceedings re COVID-19 impacts on customers and utilities. Here is the link to the 7/13 Public Meeting including audio/visual link and public comment email address:
Special Public Meeting UM 2114 COVID-19 Investigation Notice and Agenda
The link includes the Staff Report, the Utilities’ input, joint comments from the other parties, and some comments submitted supportive to small business—some of these may look familiar to SBUA supporters since there were a few irregularities in how the small business supportive public comment posting was handled, but it appears this is an effort to correct that.
The PUC process still focuses on residential, which is to be expected as this is a focus of the PUC in this matter (especially for the low income and disproportionately impacted consumers), there is a far larger number both of residential customers and also the residential arrearages are much higher. We are pleased though to read that the Staff has asked that the small commercial customers dealing with wildfires and also with a certain level of air quality degradation not be disconnected. And we appreciate the advocacy of the Joint Comments from Community Advocates with regard to those concerns as well as a recognition of increased disconnects by natural gas over electric small commercial customers. Small Business Utility Advocates seeks to support a fair PUC COVID-19 related process by making it fair for small business including the small business utility customers. These businesses are key utility consumers, the economic engine of the state, and provide jobs for the state’s residents.
Since the last public meeting, SBUA has reached out to at least four counties including Multnomah (largest # of customers) and Malheur (Idaho Power) to inform them on the small commercial utility customers, arrearages re to COVID-19 and possibly leveraging the federal COVID-19 relief dollars in ARPA to reduce these arrearages related to the pandemic. Also on 6/29/21 SBUA held a meeting with small business groups. We have also sought more information from different utilities to learn more about the data we are seeing in the monthly COVID-19 reports.
For the July 13 PUC Special Public Meeting, SBUA will advocate again for the Commission to direct Staff to hold a small commercial customer focused workshop on the small commercial customers in the COVID-19 pandemic PUC proceedings.
- We are concerned for the present where the current (May’21) percentages of the arrearages in the individual utility territories are still much higher in different parts of the state than in the January 2020 period. These businesses had to pay the cost of keeping their businesses functional while not being able to do business, serve customers.
- We are concerned that arrearages and other COVID-19 related costs will be included in future rate cases in the different utilities, even though some of these debts and the stress do to the prospect of disconnection, could been avoided or at least reduced by taking the reasonable measure modeled previously by Washington’s Commission, of including small commercial customers in the later disconnect moratoria that residential customers benefitted from in Oregon.
- Also, we recognize that some local governments are working toward assisting small businesses in paying these arrearages. Related to this assistance, is a concern expressed by small business advocates, that small businesses in those counties would still be subject to rate increase proposals based on small customer COVID-19 related debts elsewhere in Oregon.
Imagine in recovery if the debts and arrearages of COVID-19 pandemic closures and related challenges businesses experienced was alleviated so that there was no need to negotiate recovery of pandemic related costs to small businesses in the future…
There is much to discuss in a workshop, and also such workshop may have benefits for all customers.
Hope to hear back from you on this before 7/13/21 and that you can make it to that meeting. Thanks for considering and for the support!
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Small businesses are invited to participate in PG&E’s two new, free technical assistance programs for small and diverse businesses. The two programs are summarized below:
Technical Assistance Program (TAP) Learning Management System (LMS) program. www.pgetap.com.
PG&E’s Technical Assistance Program (TAP) learning management system (LMS) online video training platform is designed to empower businesses with valuable, actionable and on demand processes and practices. These courses can assist any enterprise aspiring to scale, improve business strategy, increase management capacity or achieve new overall levels of excellence. See
PG&E enlist industry subject matter experts as course instructors to provide a series of best practices to help small businesses succeed. These LMS video courses allow self-paced study, including workbooks, downloads, quizzes, and other interactive elements to keep businesses engaged and foster a greater depth of learning.
Inner City Capital Connections (ICCC) program. www.icic.org
Sponsored by PG&E, ICCC is a tuition-free executive leadership training program designed to help small businesses build capacity and resilience for sustainable growth and navigate the ongoing economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 ICCC program is uniquely designed to provide access to capital, one-on-one coaching, and capacity-building education. ICCC participants will leave the program with business recovery strategies, capital relief solutions, community building resources, and the tools to position their business for long-term success.
The ICCC Northern California Program will begin with a virtual two-day Opening Seminar series (businesses can apply to participate in the July or the August seminar), followed by online webinars, one-on-one coaching, and a culminating virtual National Conference in December. Interested business owners should submit an application by Friday, June 18. Space is limited. For questions, contact Nadia Larasati at nlarasati@icic.org or (617)-238-3034.
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Opportunity Announcement Type: RFI
Title: PG&E’s Small Business Affinity Partnership in Central Valley
Deadline: 1/21/2021
Website: Upcoming PG&E Bid Opportunities (will be accessible online in 1-2 days)
Description:
The objective of this bid opportunity is to identify local, small and medium-sized suppliers in the Central Valley to support outreach to local, small and micro businesses within their community. The selected supplier(s) will help to: increase awareness of PG&E’s offerings; create greater awareness of PG&E’s products and services; provide personalized, high touch connectivity to the local business community; educate on customer digitization to improve ease of payments; share availability of resources and programs.
Description of work includes, but is not limited, to the following:
- Local outreach: Connect and explain to small business owners how to incorporate sustainability, safety and energy efficiency measures into buildings to optimize performance.
- Digital education: Maximize the small business owner’s digital experience with the PGE.com platform.
- Education: Raise awareness and provide education on distributed energy and other resources within the PG&E ecosystem via door-to-door outreach, phone campaigns, and / or community events.
- Data collection and reporting: Track and report key performance metrics related to a specific outreach subject. Provide detailed reports, presentations and recommendations based on findings.
Minimum Requirements:
Suppliers must meet all the following requirements to be considered:
- Demonstrated experience and success in managing community outreach programs.
- Staff with sustainability, engineering, or energy-related consulting experience.
- Meet the State of California definition of Small Business (A business with principal office domiciled in California with 100 or fewer employees; average annual gross receipts of $15 million or less over the last three tax years).
- Ability to meet critical cyber security requirements and pass a detailed review.
- Meet all background and business requirements to become a PG&E supplier.
Work Location:
The supplier’s work facilities must be located within the PG&E-served communities of the Central Valley, including: San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, Madera, Fresno, Kings, Tulare and Kern.
How to Respond:
Suppliers interested in participating in this Contract Opportunity must:
- Meet all minimum requirements noted above
- Complete the Questionnaire attached to this Contract Opportunity Announcement.
- Submit completed Questionnaire via email to Nichoel Farris by 12 noon (PST) January 21, 2021.
If Additional Questions, Contact:
Nichoel Farris
Channel Manager / Small Business Strategist
Click here for more information.
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COVID-19 Business Webinar Series
The California Green Business Network and partners present a webinar series aimed to help small to medium-sized businesses adapt and Recover, Build Resilience, and Incorporate Sustainability into the years that come. Please join them for this free series.
December 10th, 2020 12 pm-1:30 pm
Stay Open During the Pandemic & Save Money on Utility Bills
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- Be confident your business is meeting all key COVID safety requirements to help get us back to the orange zone. Equip your team, reassure customers and employees that you care about their health, avoid fines.
- How the State of California’s Small Business Financing program can help pay for energy efficiency upgrades and other facility improvements to keep your business open and save on energy bills with Jonathan Verhoef
- Alliance for Energy Efficiency Case Studies, “What’s Possible” with Sid Pelston
- What is a “REN” and how are they helping businesses be more efficient?
RSVP HERE
Previous Sessions and Recordings
May 20th, 2020 11 am-12 pm (RECORDING)
Pivoting and Loan Forgiveness
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- Business Pivot Panel: Successful pivots that will have lasting benefits. Featuring KitchenTown Cafe, Body Kinetics Gym, and Rafael Theater.
- Ensuring forgiveness of your SBA Loan and more available resources in case you didn’t get one. Featuring Scott Rogalski, Norcal SBDC Finance Center
May 27th, 2020 11 am-12 pm (RECORDING)
Marketing, Social Media, Recovery Messaging
-
- Featuring Kevin England, CEO of marketing firm Vonazon, Inc.
- Topics: Low hanging fruit, platforms to claim, expanding your audience, building a mailing list, and more…
June 3rd, 2020 11 am-12:30 pm (RECORDING)
Sustainability, Safety, Savings
-
- Featuring Santiago Ossa, PE, OSD, Geosyntec, & another speaker TBA!
- Topic 1: Balancing Sustainability Practices and Safety During COVID-19
- Topic 2: Saving Money Every Month: Energy and Water Conservation
June 10th, 2020 11 am-12:30 pm (RECORDING)
Beyond Crisis Management
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- Negotiating your rent/lease, insurance options, and payroll protections for disaster preparedness with Thomas D. Morell, Real Estate Attorney from Shartsis Friese LLP, and Nadra Ehrman from The Towbes Group Property Management.
- Keeping the upside of the pandemic: Sustainable transportation and teleworking with guest speaker (TBA)!
June 19th, 2020 11 am-12:30 pm (RECORDING)
Healthier Cleaning and Disinfection
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- Experts from GreenSeal, EPA Safer Choice, and a janitorial company join us for this panel on their certification standards, and safer ways to disinfect your business (and home!) during COVID-19.
Reuse and Recycling During COVID-19
October 13, 2020 at 10:00 AM (RECORDING)
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- Saving with Reusables – Case Studies – Grace Lee, Rethink Disposable
- PPE Options – Tania Katib, San Benito County
- Safety of Reusables vs Disposables During C19- Grace Lee, Rethink Disposable
- State of Recycling – Market/Recyclables Update – Lisa Ryder Moore, WM Consultant
- California Foodservice Industry Foodware and Compost Updates – Leslie Lukacs, Zero Waste Sonoma
Ser un Negocio Ecológico Durante COVID-19
Miercoles, 16 de Septiembre, 2020 10 am-12 pm PT (GRABACIÓN)
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- Como limpiar y disinfectar de forma saludable con Pauli Ojea, coordinadora del Departamento del Medio Ambiente de San Francisco
- Prácticas de sostenibilidad para ahorrar dinero con Berenice Garcia Tellez, Especialista en Sostenibilidad Económica
- Reduciendo residuos durante COVID-19 con Fernando Figueroa, Jefe del Departamento de Certificación Ambiental y Programas de Autorregulación.
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SBUA Members and other small businesses are invited by PG&E’s Technical Assistance Program to attend a conference with great training and networking – the 2020 ICIC National Conference.
This event will connect small businesses communities with a vast new network and new subject matter experts. With 3 days of programming from 9:30am to 2:30pm PST, there will be many opportunities to connect with prominent procurement and supplier diversity leaders, learn from Harvard business school professors and other experts, participate in interactive case-method-style breakout sessions with prominent procurement and supplier diversity leaders and explore innovative approaches to access to capital.
With PG&E’s special promo code, SBUA members can register for free (general admission is usually $95).
Download the flyer with details on the conference and how to register.
PG&E_NatCon Invite_2020112 (1)
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Earlier this year, Diane Henkels presented a webinar on “Getting Oregon’s Small Businesses the Best Energy Future.” This webinar was designed specifically for small businesses to inform them of what they need to know most about Oregon’s energy landscape and how and where to most effectively support small business.
For those of you who missed it, please see the slideshow of the Webinar here: SBUA presentation 082620
Diane Henkels,
Attorney, Small Business Utility Advocates
541-270-6001
diane@utilityadvocates.org
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PG&E is hosting webinar trainings for small business on how to enhance your online presence with your members! The first in the three-part series starts next week, on August 5th.
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Details:
How your business shows up online is more important than ever before. Given the limited opportunities available to connect with decision-makers in-person, it’s imperative that your brand be compelling and highly visible.
The PG&E Supply Chain Responsibility Team is hosting a three-part virtual workshop series to help you “Enhance Your Online Presence to Grow Your Business.”
Any small and/or diverse-owned business can attend at no charge.
See details below and at http://supplierdiversityeducation.com.
2020-08_Online Presence Virtual Series_Flyer
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