Kenneth M. Capps, Senior Vice President of Engineering and Operations at Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative (SMECO), has been elected to chair the board of directors of ReliabilityFirst Corporation. ReliabilityFirst is the organization responsible for setting, monitoring, and enforcing electric reliability and security standards for the bulk power system in 13 states and Washington, DC.
Capps has served as an at-large member on the board of ReliabilityFirst since 2006 when the organization was first formed. For the past two years, Capps served as vice-chair of the board and chair of the compensation committee. Capps said, “I am honored to be a part of the ReliabilityFirst organization. And, because SMECO is an active participant, our co-op has benefitted from the knowledge and best practices that ReliabilityFirst has incorporated into security and reliability standards for utilities.”
As the Senior Vice President of Engineering and Operations at SMECO, Capps is responsible for all of the cooperative’s electric system and many associated activities, including construction and maintenance of substations and power lines, all metering hardware, software, and related functions, materials management, vehicles and equipment, and safety. Capps graduated from the Florida Institute of Technology and has worked at SMECO since 1981. He has served as vice president since January 2005.
As chair of the ReliabilityFirst board, Capps will preside over all ReliabilityFirst board meetings. He will take an active role in shaping and overseeing the strategic direction of the organization, serve as liaison between the president & CEO of ReliabilityFirst and the other directors, represent the organization at NERC meetings, and consult with ReliabilityFirst member companies on various matters. The board has 14 directors representing suppliers, transmission companies, the regional transmission organization, and small, medium, and large load-serving entities.
SMECO is a customer-owned electric cooperative providing electricity to over 154,000 services in southern Prince George’s County, and in Charles County, St. Mary’s County, and all but the northeast portion of Calvert County. Co-ops are distinctly different from investor-owned utilities because co-ops are owned by their customers, and these members elect the men and women who serve on the Board of Directors.
Co-ops also issue capital credits to their members. What are capital credits? They are the member’s share of the co-op’s margins, based on how much electricity the member purchased and the rate at which the account was billed. SMECO’s margins—revenue less expenses—are used as working capital for new construction and system improvements. When SMECO’s Board of Directors determines that a percentage of the capital credits can be distributed to members through a general refund, capital credits will be issued by check or credited to members’ electric bills.
