SMECO
Ken Dyson, who represents Charles County on SMECO’s Board of Directors, was born and raised in Charlotte Hall. For more than 50 years, he has lived in Hughesville. Dyson is a realtor with Coldwell Banker Jay Lilly Realtors.
Dyson recalls when SMECO’s membership numbered 37,000 people, far fewer members than the current 162,000-plus customers today. “Changes at SMECO have all been upward,” Dyson said, noting that the house where he was born was equipped with a water-cooled, one-cylinder generator that provided power for the home.
A member of SMECO’s Board since 1974, Dyson has served as Assistant Secretary-Treasurer and Secretary-Treasurer. Dyson currently serves on the Policy, Audit and Budget Committee and the Public Relations Committee. He holds both the Credentialed Cooperative Director designation and the Board Leadership Certificate from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.
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SMECO
Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative was founded in 1937. Through the Rural Electrification Administration, the co-op received a loan of $165,000 to construct 175 miles of line to serve 600 customer-members. SMECO operated a generating plant at Popes Creek, Maryland, from 1938 to 1953. SMECO has had five general managers: 1938, Forrest Coakley; 1974, Walter H. Smith; 1989, I. Wayne Swann; 2003, Austin J. Slater, Jr.; and 2020, Sonja Cox. As of January 2020, SMECO served 165,000 customers and is one of the largest electric co-ops in the country. SMECO serves all of Charles and St. Mary's counties, the southern portion of Prince George's County, and all but the northeast portion of Calvert County.