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. For more information, go to www.smeco.coop.