n 1935, Southern Maryland was so sparsely populated that commercial electric power companies refused to extend service to the area. Like many other rural communities throughout the nation, the region faced the dim prospect of life without electricity.

In search of electric lighting for their homes, farms, and businesses, Southern Maryland’s residents took matters into their own hands. They formed local committees to seek federal assistance through the Rural Electrification Administration (REA), created in 1936 as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal.

Today, SMECO provides power to more than 165,000 services, but it remains a cooperative corporation, owned by its members and operated for them on a non-profit basis. Rates are based on the cost of doing business. Surplus income, if any, is returned to the members through Capital Credits.