HUGHESVILLE, Md. — The average Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative (SMECO) customer experienced nearly two hours without power and more than one sustained outage during 2025, according to newly reviewed reliability data.
The Maryland Public Service Commission filed its annual electric reliability order Aug. 24. The proceeding examines reliability reports submitted by Maryland’s electric utilities for the previous calendar year.
SMECO’s published figures show that, excluding major storms, the average customer experienced 1.96 hours of outages during 2025. That equals approximately one hour and 58 minutes.
The average customer also experienced 1.26 sustained service interruptions during the year.
For customers who lost power, the average sustained interruption lasted 1.56 hours, or about one hour and 34 minutes.
The three figures measure different aspects of electric reliability. The System Average Interruption Duration Index measures the total average outage time for all customers, while the System Average Interruption Frequency Index tracks how often customers experience sustained interruptions. The Customer Average Interruption Duration Index measures the average length of an interruption among customers who lost service.
The numbers are systemwide averages and do not mean every customer experienced the same number or length of outages. Some customers may not have lost power, while others may have experienced multiple or longer interruptions.
SMECO’s figures also exclude major storms, which utilities report separately because widespread severe weather can produce outages well beyond normal operating conditions. As a result, the measurements are intended to show the reliability of the electric system during more typical conditions.
The cooperative provides electricity to more than 180,000 services across Southern Maryland.
SMECO is undertaking several infrastructure projects that it says are intended to strengthen reliability and replace aging equipment. According to the cooperative’s reliability project summary, it is replacing four 69-kilovolt transmission lines running from Chalk Point in Aquasco to its Hughesville substation. The existing lines date to the 1960s.
The cooperative said as much as 67% of the transmission replacement cost will be covered through a Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.
Other recent projects include a reconstructed substation at Marshall’s Corner near La Plata, which was energized in February 2025, and a larger Waldorf substation that entered service in August 2025. SMECO has also completed or planned substation work in St. Mary’s and Charles counties.
The 2025 measurements provide a baseline for evaluating whether those investments reduce the frequency or duration of outages in future reporting years.
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