In the coming years, Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative is planning to upgrade its electric transmission service to a great deal of its customer base. SMECO plans to embark on a new transmission system dubbed the Southern Maryland Reliability Project. The SMRP will be, when complete, an overhaul in system capacity from the current 69-kilivolt transmission capacity to 230-kilovolts in Calvert and St. Mary’s Counties.

The first part of the process is the application and permitting, which were submitted to the Maryland Public Service Commission for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity on Nov. 21, 2008. The CPCN is required before SMECO can start construction of the SMRP. The project will ensure that reliable power is available to the growing number of residents in Southern Maryland.

The SMRP upgrade will provide additional capacity and create a continuous “loop” of electricity around SMECO’s service area, creating greater operational flexibility to move power around and to isolate and minimize power outages. Over the past 30 years, SMECO’s customer base has tripled, while the amount of energy used is five times greater and expected to continue to grow.

“Our customer-members expect reliable power, and upgrading this transmission line will ensure that our customers’ needs are met,” said SMECO President and CEO Austin J. Slater, Jr.  “We expect to complete the Southern Maryland Reliability Project over the next five to six years. This project will have a minimal effect on current rates or the environment if we are able to follow the same route as the current line and stay within existing rights-of-way,” add Slater.

The new power line will run south from Holland Cliff through Calvert County, cross the Patuxent River, enter St. Mary’s County, and end in Lexington Park. Although SMECO will consider alternative routes, new rights-of-way are not necessary along the preferred route, with the exception of areas like the lower Patuxent River crossing. The cost of the project will be rolled into SMECO’s annual construction budget and financed over many years.