SMECO Company Overview
- Headquartered in Hughesville, MD
- Over 170,000 member accounts
- One of the 15 largest electric cooperatives in US
Project Highlights
Project Duration: 02/2024 – 10/2024
Objective: Field Collections for Compliance Reporting
UDC is excited to partner with Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative (SMECO) on a field collection initiative to support the cooperative’s compliance reporting activities for stray voltage. UDC is field visiting about 59,000 structures of SMECO’s electric distribution system to measure the contact voltages and verify the lines for any stray voltages. UDC is additionally providing the reporting for those locations to help the cooperative fulfill its reporting requirements. The project got underway early this year and is projected to be completed in Fall of 2024.
This is UDC’s second engagement with SMECO for stray voltage compliance field collection work.
SMECO Goals
To remain in compliance with Maryland state regulations, SMECO must check its electric distribution system for any stray voltages every five years. The cooperative contracted UDC to help conduct the inspections within the required timeline. This initiative aims to enhance public safety, improve infrastructure reliability, streamline data collection and management processes, reduce long-term operational costs, and mitigate any potential hazards associated with the electrical distribution system.
UDC’s Role
For the stray voltage initiative, UDC is overseeing and providing the qualified field resources, transport, testing equipment, and necessary technology for the contact voltage measurements. The surveyed equipment for this project includes metal streetlights, switch cabinets, switch fuse models, and pad mount transformers.
UDC is additionally helping to analyze the collected data to assess compliance and build the reports. This effort includes providing digital dashboard reporting to SMECO using UDC’s Digital Utility Electric Compliance Manager along with a hardcopy format to demonstrate the cooperative’s compliance with the regulations.
Contact us for more information and read about our Data Acquisition services to learn how we can help you achieve more comprehensive asset management and reporting.