Cost of transmission system to be shared across region
Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative (SMECO) received approval from the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) on December 28, 2017, to reduce its Distribution Service charges for customers. The lower rates are the result of a redistribution of SMECO’s transmission costs, which will save SMECO customers $10 million per year. The new rates are scheduled to go into effect in January 2018.
“SMECO’s energy rates are as low as they were 12 years ago, and that’s good news for all of our customer-members,” said Austin J. Slater, Jr., SMECO president and CEO. “When reduced energy costs are bolstered by reduced rates on other parts of the bill, customers will be able to save even more.”
SMECO’s cost for investing in high-voltage facilities is being reduced because the costs for transmission facilities throughout a region are paid for by all the customers within that region. “SMECO was registered as a transmission owner in January 2017. Since the entire region benefits from SMECO’s high-voltage facilities, the cost of those facilities will be shared by customers throughout the region. In addition, SMECO has taken cost-cutting initiatives, such as reducing staff, decreasing the number of vehicles in its fleet, and consolidating offices,” Slater explained. “As a result, our customer-members will have a lower monthly bill.”
