SMECO: Tips for Staying Safe This Summer

Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative has some safety reminders for homeowners doing outdoor chores around their yards.

• Keep equipment away from overhead lines when carrying ladders, pool skimmers, and pruning tools.
• If a tree is in contact with an overhead power line and you attempt to remove the tree, you can become the easiest path to the ground.
• Use a licensed electrician for all electrical work in and around your home or business.
• Plant trees at least 30 feet from overhead lines.
• Don’t build a tree house, fort, or anything else in a tree that is next to power lines.

Contact SMECO to disconnect power if you are doing work that requires close contact with overhead lines attached to your home.

In addition to overhead lines, SMECO has many underground electric lines. Call Miss Utility at 811 before you dig to have underground utilities marked.

Remember: Overhead power lines carry high voltages and maintain only a coating of insulation to protect them from weathering. If your body or anything you are touching comes in contact with the power line, the results could be fatal. Electricity will course through your equipment and you, and that current can heat up and burn the tissue inside the body. If you become the easiest path to ground, the results could be deadly.

SMECO – The Cooperative Difference

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.

Electric cooperatives are shaped by the communities they serve, because co-ops are owned by their customers.  Co-op members elect the men and women who serve on the Board of Directors. Members share the responsibility of ownership by financing the cooperative’s operations, but they also share its rewards.

At the end of each year, SMECO’s margins (profits) are allocated to members’ capital credit accounts. SMECO uses its profits to invest in new construction, system improvements, and facility upgrades. The Board of Directors regularly evaluates the financial condition of the co-op and determines when members will receive a refund. Since 1937, SMECO has refunded more than $128 million.

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 X. Check out podcasts hosted by Sonja Cox, CEO and president. Listen on SMECO’s YouTube channel or wherever you get your podcasts.

The SMECO 24/7 mobile app is available at www.smeco.coop/247. To learn more about SMECO, please visit its Leader member page.