Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative (SMECO) recently awarded a $100 gift card to Carl and Becky Darago of Huntingtown. The winners were drawn at random from a list of customers who had a refrigerator or freezer recycled between March 1, 2013, and June 30, 2013. More than 500 customers who recycled their appliances were automatically entered in the drawing.
Mr. Darago explained, “We recycled a freezer that we had for many years. It probably cost us a couple of dollars a day to run it, and we just didn’t need it.” As of June30, 2013, SMECO customer-members have recycled more than 6,500 appliances since 2009. Customers who recycled their appliances have helped to save as much as 8,465 megawatt-hours; that is equivalent to the amount of energy used in one month by 7,000 homes consuming 1,200 kilowatt-hours each.
SMECO is a customer-owned electric cooperative providing electricity to more than 154,000 services in Charles County, St. Mary’s County, southern Prince George’s County, and all but the northeast portion of Calvert County. Co-ops are distinctly different from investor-owned utilities because co-ops are owned by their customers, and customer-members elect the men and women who serve on the Board of Directors.
Co-ops also issue capital credits to their customer-members. What are capital credits? They are the member’s share of the co-op’s margins, based on how much electricity the member purchased and the rate at which the account was billed. SMECO’s margins—revenue less expenses—are used as working capital for new construction and system improvements. When SMECO’s Board of Directors determines that a percentage of the capital credits can be distributed to members through a general refund, capital credits will be issued by check or credited to members’ electric bills.
