SMECO holds 86th annual meeting

Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative held its 86th annual meeting on Aug. 21 at the Mechanicsville Volunteer Fire Department social hall.

The following SMECO members were elected to serve on SMECO’s Board for three years: Susan Hance-Wells of Calvert County, Kenneth W. Cross and Edward Holland of Charles County, and Walter Rayner Blair III and William R. Cullins III of St. Mary’s County.

More than 7,400 members voted in the SMECO election and results were announced at the meeting. SMECO’s election was conducted by mail and members could also vote electronically by casting their ballots online.

Seventy-three percent of the ballots were returned by mail and 27% were cast online. Members who returned their ballots or voted online were eligible to win one of 30 electric bill credits of $50 each.

Blair, chairman of the SMECO Board of Directors, welcomed SMECO’s members to the event and called the meeting to order. SMECO President and CEO Sonja Cox introduced the video version of the cooperative’s 2023 annual report.

The video underscored the impact of the cooperative’s longstanding relationship with Southern Maryland, highlighting the cooperative’s dedication to supporting local and diverse businesses, advancing charitable initiatives, and protecting the environment, while also maintaining its high standards of reliability even in the face of quickly rising costs.

“In 2023, the cooperative continued its efforts to upgrade and enhance the system’s infrastructure, taking care to maximize the value of every dollar spent, while still maintaining the level of reliability and quality customer service SMECO members expect and deserve.” Cox said.

Cox also answered questions about Rider-G, a Standard Offer Service option available to cooperative members who choose to have 100 percent of their electricity supplied from renewable sources.

“SMECO was built by this community for this community, and we will continue to take the steps necessary to ensure the sustained financial wellbeing of the cooperative while remaining committed to our mission of providing reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy solutions for our members,” Cox said. “We love our community and we want to see it thrive.”

SMECO was incorporated in 1937 and is one of the 15 largest electric cooperatives in the United States with more than 170,000 member accounts in Charles County, St. Mary’s County, southern Prince George’s County, and most of Calvert County.

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/247.