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.

Non Profit

SMECO

Sonja M. Cox

Jolene Burger

Asmaa El Maliki

Melanie Kay Asher

Cheri Leszczynski

Michael Campbell

Denise Chalmers

Jeff Shaw

Terrie Barringer

Brian Lazarchick Ms, Csp

Terry Ressler

Jonna Jones

Campbell Hawkins

Beth A. Kennedy

Joseph Trentacosta

Roger E. Schneider

Cindy M. Rauner

Mark A. Macdougall

The Compliance and Legal team at SMECO is responsible for ensuring that the cooperative adheres to all regulatory, legal, and environmental requirements. The team manages legal affairs, oversees government and community relations, ensures environmental compliance, and upholds reliability standards. Their collaborative efforts support SMECO's commitment to legal integrity, community engagement, and sustainable operations.

Compliance and Legal

Board Members

Engineering and Operations

Information Technology Team

Compliance and Legal

About

Team members

Other teams at SMECO

Board Members

Engineering and Operations

Information Technology Team