Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative (SMECO) held its 79th Annual Meeting on August 23, 2017, at Middleton Hall in Waldorf. The Board of Directors election was conducted by mail prior to the meeting.

The following SMECO members were elected to serve on SMECO’s Board for three years: Nancy W. Zinn in Calvert County; William L. Purnell in Charles County; Daniel W. Dyer in Prince George’s County; and J. Douglas Frederick and Joseph V. Stone, Jr. in St. Mary’s County. No bylaw amendments were included on this year’s ballot.
In 2016, SMECO members voted to amend the bylaw that outlines requirements for meetings and voting, and this year’s election was conducted entirely by mail. Ballots were mailed to customer-members on July 21, and they were instructed to return their ballots by mail by August 16. Nearly 9,500 members voted, and election results were announced at the meeting.

In his remarks, SMECO’s president and CEO, Austin J. Slater, Jr., explained that an electric cooperative’s customer-members have the ability to vote each year for their representatives who serve on the board. While SMECO has approximately 137,000 members, last year only 882 members registered at the meeting or by absentee mail-in ballot. Nearly 11 times as many members voted in this year’s election.

In other matters, Slater said that SMECO has installed 120,000 new smart meters at homes and businesses throughout Southern Maryland. SMECO expects the new meters to improve outage response time, increase efficiency, and save money. A capital credit general refund of $2.85 million was issued to members last month, “just one more advantage our members enjoy by being part of a cooperative,” Slater said. In addition, he explained that the cost of power has declined and is now lower than it has been for more than 12 years. SMECO’s distribution costs will also be reduced by almost $2 million upon approval of a recent rate filing.

According to Slater, at a Public Service Commission hearing held on July 25, SMECO recorded the best score in the state for the number of outages that occurred during 2016. SMECO also met all state standards for service restoration during regular operations and major storm events. The cooperative reported that the average time for a SMECO customer care center representative to answer a phone call is only 21 seconds, and 85 percent of calls are answered within 30 seconds.

At the annual meeting, SMECO hosted informational displays about its smart meters and EmPOWER Maryland programs which help customers save energy and money. Richard A. Winkler, Chairman of the SMECO Board of Directors, welcomed SMECO’s customer-members to the event and called the meeting to order. J. Ernest Bell II of Leonardtown served as the meeting chairman, a role he has played since 1999. Guest speaker Jim Matheson, CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, echoed Slater’s remarks and reiterated the value of cooperative membership and the customers’ ability to vote for their board of directors. Customer-members who returned their ballots were eligible to win one of 60 electric bill credits of $50 each. 

Below are the results of the voting. You may use this information at your discretion:

Calvert County (one seat available)
Nancy W. Zinn  7,794 votes

Charles County (one seat available)
Victor B. Allen  2,392 votes
Kenneth W. Cross  1,389 votes
William L. Purnell  2,967 votes
Craig J. Renner  1,381 votes

Prince George’s County (one seat available)
Daniel W. Dyer  7,586 votes

St. Mary’s County (two seats available)
Exzavain V. Burkes  1,023 votes
J. Douglas Frederick  6,276 votes
Joseph V. Stone, Jr.  6,296 votes


SMECO – The Cooperative Difference –
Nearly 80 years ago, when rural areas needed electricity, cooperatives were created. Visionary men and women helped to form the Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative (SMECO). SMECO now provides electric service to 160,000 customers in Charles County, St. Mary’s County, southern Prince George’s County, and most of Calvert County.

Cooperatives are distinctly different from investor-owned utilities because co-ops are owned by their customers. Customer-members elect the men and women who serve on the Board of Directors. Customer-members share the responsibility of ownership by financing the cooperative’s operations, but they also share its rewards.

Each year, SMECO’s margins—revenue less expenses—are allocated to customers’ capital credit accounts. SMECO uses margins as working capital for new construction and system improvements. Then, whenever the Board of Directors determines that the financial condition of the co-op warrants, members receive a refund.

As a cooperative, SMECO will always put its members first and be responsive, reliable, and resourceful—the power you can count on.

Follow SMECO on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SMECO.coop and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/somdelectric.

The SMECO 24/7 mobile app is available at www.smeco.coop/services/smeco-24-7.