CEJA Success Story: Michael Pettway
For nine years, Michael Pettway has been building something on his own terms. As the owner and supervising electrician of MLP Electric LLC, he has grown a Chicago-based electrical contracting firm from the ground up, specializing in renewable energy services including solar installation, EV charger installation, and energy efficiency upgrades. The CEJA Hub, part of Illinois’ Clean Energy Jobs Act, gave him the tools and connections to take that work to the next level.
Michael launched MLP Electric in 2017 after earning his supervised electrician’s license with the City of Chicago. Though he remains a proud Union electrician, he knew early on that working for others would limit what he could achieve. “The opportunities are out here and I’m able to pursue them for myself,” Michael said. “I don’t have to hope and wait for someone else to do it for me.”
When Michael connected with the CEJA Hub, he was already classified as an approved vendor with Illinois Shines and Illinois Solar for All, and earned his Equitable Eligible Contractor designation. He joined the program specifically to learn how to capitalize on those credentials. “I thought the CEJA program would be the best opportunity to learn how to take more advantage of the classifications I had already received,” he said.
Through the hub, Michael worked with coordinators including Valerie Batteast of Great Lakes Development, who helped him master the ins and outs of certified payroll, a critical skill for contractors pursuing public and grant-funded projects. He also found consistent value in the program’s networking opportunities. “You can never get enough networking,” he said. “That’s the biggest part of entrepreneurship.”
That networking paid off in a significant way. Through Elevate, Michael was introduced to Sesenergi and brought on as part of a grant-funded development project as an Equitable Eligible Contractor. The opportunity extends through 2027 and represents exactly the kind of meaningful, revenue-generating work he had been working toward. “Elevate was able to help me achieve it, not just teach me about it, but allow me to be a part of it and to gain revenue from it,” Michael said. “It’s a huge breakthrough for me.”
The hub also helped Michael forge a key professional partnership. He connected with fellow program graduate Tasharia Gardner, a project manager working toward her general contractor license. The two have since begun exploring collaborative opportunities, combining their expertise to pursue larger contracts together, a relationship that grew directly out of the CEJA program.
Looking ahead, Michael is pursuing BPI and BPA certifications to expand MLP Electric’s energy efficiency services, and is leveraging his ICC certifications to open new project pathways. His long-term vision is to build systems and infrastructure strong enough that the business can thrive beyond any one person. “I want to get it to the point where it’s self-sustainable,” he said. “Getting a system in place so I can put individuals in place and take responsibilities off my plate, taking off one hat at a time.”
