Siege Electric

What they do

Siege Electric is a specialty electrical contractor based in North County San Diego that provides power and energy infrastructure solutions for the commercial and public/municipal industries. Owner Joshua Middleton is a Black disabled veteran who began his electrical career as an Electrician’s Mate in the U.S. Navy before transitioning to the private sector, starting his apprenticeship with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and advancing his way through the electrical industry, leading to Siege Electric’s founding in 2017.

The name Siege refers to their mission of capturing and harnessing protons and electrons to create energy, whether stored in a battery bank or transmitted across grids.

Since founding Siege Electric, Joshua’s vision for the company has shifted to targeting larger-scale projects in the public sector.

Siege Electric is a member of IBEW, the largest union of electrical workers in North America, and the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) Diversity and Inclusion Committee, which also partners with MANA.

Siege Electric participates in supplier diversity contracts in Los Angeles, San Diego, and Imperial counties. Siege has collaborated with the California Department of Transportation, Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority, Port of Los Angeles, San Diego County, the City of Oceanside Fire Department, the San Diego Unified School District, and the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) on its recent trolley expansion project. The latter earned a Construction Risk Partners Build America award in 2023 for the best new highway and transportation project valued at $20 million or more and a merit award in the Marvin M. Black Partnering Excellence category.

Why we invested

Siege Electric pays its employees $21–$69 per hour and offers comprehensive health benefits through the union. Siege Electric often employs people from disenfranchised communities, including veterans, unhoused, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, formerly incarcerated (including graduates from Second Chance), and those recovering from substance use.

Siege Electric participates in pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs and has trained over 40 apprentices, some of whom through Helmets to Hardhats, an organization that connects veterans with careers in construction.

Despite its status as a Black-owned, Service-Disabled Veteran-owned (SDVOSB), Small and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (SBE/DBE), Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise (DVBE), and Minority Business Enterprise (MBE)-certified company, Siege Electric doesn’t fit conventional banking criteria to qualify for commercial credit. As Joshua tells it, “In construction, the contractor IS the bank,” meaning the contractor has to front capital for labor and materials before being reimbursed for their work.

The capital will help Siege Electric with sufficient runway to bid on projects.