Five Ways to Build Mutually Beneficial Strategic Business Relationships

Key Factors in Black & Veatch's Relationship with PG&E Company

Pacific Gas and Electric Company was founded in California in 1905 and is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric energy companies in the county. Their primary business focus is the generation, transmission and delivery of energy, providing service to about 16 million people throughout their 70,000-square-mile service area in northern and central California.

Black & Veatch has been working with Pacific Gas and Electric Company in a strategic partner capacity for 20 years as of 2023. The following aspects are key to Black & Veatch’s success in maintaining a long-term relationship with Pacific Gas and Electric Company and demonstrate five ways to build mutually beneficial industry connections:

For each project with Pacific Gas and Electric Company that Black & Veatch pursues, we hand-pick our team members based on their individual expertise and experience on similar projects. Often, our specific team members have already developed relationships with the Pacific Gas and Electric Company teams.

Recent Pacific Gas and Electric Company projects our engineering and construction professionals have worked on include hydropower facility upgrades, substation replacements, underground transmission lines, automation control buildings, turbine replacements and modernizations of aging infrastructure. Pacific Gas and Electric Company benefits from the personal touch of our California-based team members, supplemented with the diverse expertise of our international network.

Black & Veatch is proud of our transparent bidding process, and we propose value engineering solutions to make sure our clients get the most out of every dollar they spend. Collaboration is an essential part of our company culture, and we bring this type of working environment to our client interactions as well.

Black & Veatch has played numerous roles on Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s projects including Engineer of Record, design-builder, construction manager, project manager, controls manager, outage manager, asset management lead, general contractor and self-perform contractor. Both Black & Veatch and Pacific Gas and Electric Company have worked hard to nurture our trust-based relationship, and we frequently provide mutual feedback on how our teams are performing.

There’s no learning curve when Black & Veatch begins work on a new project with Pacific Gas and Electric Company, and we seamlessly integrate with their preferred procedures and personnel. This familiarity translates to company values as well — our shared goal is to increase resiliency for Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s energy customers across California, especially when facing extreme weather events such as long-term drought. We also provide asset management, program leadership and engineering services to support Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s strategic risk management processes.

We’ve completed nearly two dozen engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) projects together in the past three years, and hundreds of hydropower and hydraulic structures projects in the past two decades. Pacific Gas and Electric Company has chosen our team time after time because Black & Veatch is one of the few contractors with both in-house technical expertise and self-perform construction abilities.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company also knows they can count on us to maintain reliable power while we remove and replace existing equipment. Our relationship has been so consistent that Black & Veatch professionals are given opportunities to train new Pacific Gas and Electric Company personnel and provide staff augmentation services when necessary.

Black & Veatch expanded our Sacramento office with the intention of supporting Pacific Gas and Electric Company with our engineering, asset management and outage management services. Our local team can mobilize quickly to support Pacific Gas and Electric Company on short notice and adapt to unique regional circumstances, effectively saving them time and money throughout construction and beyond.

Black & Veatch professionals also contribute to maintaining community relations by addressing the concerns of residents and businesses affected by our work. Having “boots on the ground” allows us to implement effective safety plans and mitigate disruptions to the surrounding communities. We’re also well-versed in ensuring compliance with changing regulatory requirements set by the local and state governments.

Black & Veatch and Pacific Gas and Electric Company are committed to working together long-term and we’ve invested time and resources to grow our strategic relationship to mutually benefit both parties.

Choosing the right strategic partner is critical, and we greatly appreciate Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s trust in us to exceed performance objectives, optimize operations, fill resource gaps and provide technical expertise. We look forward to developing even more resilient solutions with Pacific Gas and Electric Company and our other valued utility clients.

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