Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative (SMECO)

Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative (SMECO) is a customer-owned cooperative providing electricity to more than 137,000 customers, making it one of the largest electric co-ops in the nation. SMECO launched its residential energy efficiency programs in 2009, and, along with other utilities supporting EmPOWER Maryland, is making great strides toward achieving its energy efficiency goals. SMECO is receiving ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year—Sustained Excellence recognition for its successful delivery of ENERGY STAR certified homes and certified products programs. Key 2014 accomplishments include:

• Incentivizing more than 600 ENERGY STAR certified homes, a 14-percent increase from 2013. Additionally, 42 percent of all homes built within SMECO’s territory received ENERGY STAR certification.
• Employing a multimedia outreach strategy to promote ENERGY STAR certified homes that resulted in more than 2.5 million media impressions.
• Working with retailers and manufacturers to promote a range of ENERGY STAR certified compact fluorescent lights (CFL), light-emitting diodes (LED) bulbs, and fixtures, facilitating the sale of 377,000 products in 2014 and more than 2.1 million products to date, for cumulative savings of 108,000 megawatt hours (MWh).
• Promoting the sale of more than 5,600 appliances, including ENERGY STAR Most Efficient refrigerators and clothes washers as well as ENERGY STAR certified heat pump water heaters, bringing the program total to more than 31,000 appliances for savings of more than 6,100 MWh.
• Working with contractors to install more than 1,000 ENERGY STAR certified heating and cooling systems with a notable increase in the installation of qualified geothermal heat pumps.
• Collaborating with other Maryland utilities and industry stakeholders to advance the EmPower Maryland Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program.