Delaware Money Moves: Delmarva Power breaks supplier diversity record

We haven’t seen a lot of big deals over the last month, but that doesn’t mean the news hasn’t been productive for Delaware’s companies.

Delmarva Power breaks company record for supplier diversity

Delaware supplier diversity is in focus this week, with the Delaware Black Chamber of Commerce releasing data from nearly two years of collecting demographic information related to business registrations and renewals.

We hear a lot about diversity-related programs being dialed back or shut down, so it was a surprise to hear that energy provider  Delmarva Power’s supplier diversity program had a $50 million increase. The company purchased $190 million in goods and services from diversity-certified suppliers in 2023, accounting for 40% of its yearly purchases.

Diversity-certified companies must be at least 51% owned by a member of an underrepresented group, including racial and ethnic minority groups, women, veterans people with disabilities and others.

In 2022, Delmarva Power’s parent company Exelon launched the Community Impact Capital Fund (CICF) in partnership with the diverse-owned global investment firm RockCreek. Formerly known as the Racial Equity Capital Fund, the CICF expands capital access to businesses that have faced contracting barriers to help them grow, create more jobs and reinvest in their communities.

“Supplier diversity is just one of the ways we support our customers and local communities with more than energy,” said Rodney Oddoye, senior vice president of government, regulatory and external affairs at Pepco Holdings (which includes Delmarva Power and merged with Exelon in 2016 in a press release. “Our continued increase in investments with these valuable partners reinforces our commitment to the local communities that we proudly serve and supports local business growth, helping our communities thrive.”

That $50 million increase from 2023 is a record for the Exelon company.

Other money moves:

• Amtrak selected Lancaster, Pennsylvania firm Wohlson for a $53 million contract to renovate its Rennaissance Centre in Wilmington.
• Energize Delaware, administrator for the Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy Program (D-PACE), made public that it closed four private capital financing deals in the last year, totaling more than $27 million.
• Sullivan’s Landscaping & Maintenance, located in Milford, recently acquired Shore Property Maintenance of Hollyville. The merged company will operate under the name Sullivan’s Landscaping & Maintenance.