Choptank Electric Cooperative is a nonprofit

utility cooperative A utility cooperative is a type of cooperative that is tasked with the delivery of a public utility such as electricity, water or telecommunications to its members. Profits are either reinvested for infrastructure or distributed to members in ...

that distributes electricity to rural areas in the Eastern Shore region of the state of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. The cooperative, which was founded in 1938, is headquartered in Denton.

Electricity

Choptank Electric Cooperative is owned by its members, who each have one vote in deciding which co-op members will serve on the board of directors. They serve more than 52,000 members in Caroline,

Cecil Cecil may refer to: People with the name * Cecil (given name), a given name (including a list of people and fictional characters with the name) * Cecil (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) Places Canada *Cecil, Alberta, ...

, Dorchester,

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, Queen Anne's,

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

Talbot Talbot was an automobile marque introduced in 1902 by English-French company Clément-Talbot. The founders, Charles Chetwynd-Talbot, 20th Earl of Shrewsbury and Adolphe Clément-Bayard, reduced their financial interests in their Clément-Talbot ...

, Wicomico, and

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

counties on

's Eastern Shore. This 70 by 140 mile territory contains almost 6,200 miles of distribution lines. In 2001, they were ranked the 11th largest energy company in the state of Maryland. Choptank Electric Cooperative is a Touchstone Energy Cooperative and a member of

Old Dominion Electric Cooperative Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (ODEC) is an electric generation and transmission cooperative headquartered in Glen Allen, Virginia. ODEC provides wholesale power to its 11 member electric cooperatives in the states of Virginia, Maryland, and D ...

, a generation and transmission cooperative serving 11 member distribution cooperatives in

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

, Maryland, and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

History

Choptank Cooperative, Inc. was formed on September 21, 1938, after the

Rural Electrification Act The Rural Electrification Act of 1936, enacted on May 20, 1936, provided federal loans for the installation of electrical distribution systems to serve isolated rural areas of the United States. The funding was channeled through cooperative ele ...

was passed. Its first electric distribution lines were energized on December 15, 1939, in Caroline County. The cooperative was instrumental in the effort to provide electric power to the rural areas of Maryland's Eastern Shore. In 1942, the name was changed to Choptank Electric Cooperative. The cooperative joined Old Dominion Electric Cooperative in 1976 to get lower costs for wholesale electricity. On October 15, 2006, Choptank Electric Cooperative acquired the municipally-owned St. Michaels Electric Utility, which served 4,000 customers in the town of St. Michaels and surrounding areas, for $12.2 million. The St. Michaels Electric Utility had been operated and maintained by

Delmarva Power Delmarva Power is an energy company that provides electricity and natural gas to customers on portions of the Delmarva Peninsula in the states of Delaware and Maryland. The company is a subsidiary of Exelon. Electricity and natural gas Delmarva P ...

under a lease agreement from 1981 to 2006. On September 19, 2006, residents of

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

voted in favor of selling the Berlin Electric Utility Department to Choptank Electric Cooperative, a move supported by the mayor and town council because of the utility's debt and high rates but opposed by the Berlin Utility Commission because of the feared loss of revenue. Under this arrangement, Choptank Electric Cooperative would have taken over the distribution system while Old Dominion Electric Cooperative would have taken over the town's power plant. The sale fell through in 2007 after Old Dominion Electric Cooperative backed out of the deal because it felt the town's power plant did not meet the environmental standard for a residential area; Choptank Electric Cooperative soon backed out too.

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Companies based in Maryland Energy companies established in 1938 Denton, Maryland Electric power companies of the United States Electric cooperatives of the United States 1938 establishments in Maryland American companies established in 1938