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 t ...

that distributes electricity to rural areas in the

Eastern Shore Eastern Shore may refer to: * Regions in the Delmarva Peninsula: ** Eastern Shore of Maryland ** Eastern Shore of Virginia * Eastern Shore (Nova Scotia), a region * Eastern Shore (electoral district), a provincial electoral district in Nova Scotia ...

region of the state of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. 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 Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

Queen Anne's Queen Anne's County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 49,874. Its county seat and most populous municipality is Centreville. The census-designated place of Stevensville ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

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

, 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, Engl ...

counties on

. 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 ...

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

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

, Maryland, and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

History

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

Rural Electrification Act The Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (REA), 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 cooper ...

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 of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

voted in favor of selling the

Berlin Electric Utility Department Berlin is a town in Worcester County, Maryland, United States which includes its own historical Berlin Commercial District. The population was 4,485 at the 2010 census, and has since grown in population. It is part of the Salisbury, Maryland ...

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 Cooperatives based in Maryland