The lecture could have been given during a college course titled, Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. 101.
A group of 15 Chinese business leaders went through a crash course on BGE at the company?s Rutherford Business Complex on Thursday, learning how the energy firm develops business strategies and safety management plans.
The delegates were in the middle of a two-week, government-sponsored trip to the United States to learn how business and government interact in America. The group requested to meet with BGE officials during the visit.
“They came here to learn how to conduct business, how the government works with companies and how the government promotes economic development,” said David Ho, international program director for the University of Baltimore who served as interpreter for the delegates. “They?re really interested in government and business relations.”
John Murach, director of business planning and corporate performance for BGE, outlined BGE?s history and background for the delegates, focusing on the company?s challenges and goals.
A huge challenge to BGE is maintaining a stable work force as its employees age and the number of skilled and professional workers entering the job market decreases, Murach said.
“We?re losing a lot of people and we?re finding it hard to get a sufficient number of replacements,” Murach said.
The company is also dealing with replacing an aging infrastructure, updating its IT system and meeting increasing customer and regulatory expectations.
“Our regulatory strategy is a major part of our planning process,” Murach said. “We?re heavily influenced by outside regulators and legislators. These agencies are writing rules and policies that we need to comply with.”
Among its goals, BGE is working to promote safe practices, to address its regulatory cases and restore customer reputation, Murach said.
The company has in place a strategic planning process that addresses issues and formulates business plans as far as five years out, Murach said.
The event was part of a workshop coordinated by the University of Baltimore and the Clarewood Institute, a nonprofit educational organization based in Rockville.
