Choptank Electric Cooperative history

1942 At the Members’ Annual Meeting, members voted to formally convert the association into a cooperative non-profit membership corporation titled Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative, Incorporated.

1945 In April, Co-op power was extended into Calvert County with the purchase of the electric lines owned by the Eastern Shore Public Service Company.

1946 District offices opened in Calvert and St Mary’s counties.

Incorporated in 1948, Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (ODEC) provides reliable, cost-effective, environmentally balanced, wholesale electric services to our 11 member distribution cooperatives in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia.

1953 The generating plant at Popes Creek closed and all power was bought from Pepco.

Then in 1976, Choptank Electric Cooperative joined Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (ODEC) to obtain lower wholesale power costs.

1979 New St Mary’s Office opened in Leonardtown.

1982 SMECO introduced the Load Management program, which initially involved about 200 homes.

1995 A centralized call center was established, along with a Key Accounts program for commercial customers.

1998 SMECO participated in Maryland Public Service Commission roundtable discussions on customer choice issues.

2000 The Cooperative completed discussions to form the Mid-Atlantic Cooperative Services (MACS) with Choptank Electric Cooperative of Denton, Maryland, and Adams Electric Cooperative of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

2003 Wayne Swann retired; Joe Slater was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer.

2008 SMECO launched the Southern Maryland Reliability Project to upgrade its transmission capacity and improve the system’s reliability.

2010 Construction began on a new energy-efficient building at the Hughesville headquarters.

2012 SMECO expanded its commitment to renewable energy with the SMECO Solar LLC 5.5-megawatt solar generation station in Hughesville.

2014 The 230-kV transmission loop through Southern Maryland was completed on November 3.

2016 SMECO members voted to convert the annual meeting to a business meeting with all voting being managed through the mail.

2020 SMECO adapted quickly to the COVID-19 pandemic, transitioning 241 on-site employees to teleworkers and revising work processes to ensure social distancing.