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Storm Outage Updates

⛈️ Outage Update—July 6, 2026, 2:43 p.m. ⛈️

July 4 delivered a different kind of light show than our members were looking forward to, but crews from SMECO, our contractors, and neighboring cooperatives worked around the clock in challenging conditions to safely restore power across our service area. As of 2:43 p.m., all July 4 storm-related outages have been resolved.

A severe thunderstorm with high winds moved through Southern Maryland starting around 5:50 p.m. on July 4. Damaging winds and lightning caused widespread outages, including in Prince Frederick and Mechanicsville, two of our hardest-hit areas.

High winds caused significant infrastructure impacts, including:

  • 228 outage incidents affecting approximately 32,000 members 
  • 8 substations went down (including an extended outage at a Prince Frederick substation caused by the loss of two transmission lines)
  • 10 distribution feeders were damaged (feeders carry power from substations to neighborhoods)
  • Approximately 25 broken poles (preliminary count)

A special thank you to…

  • SMECO crews who worked through challenging conditions to restore power safely
  • Contractor and cooperative crews who stood shoulder to shoulder with our team
  • The families of the crews for their support during long, demanding hours
  • The SMECO team behind the scenes supporting the restoration efforts
  • And most importantly, our members for your patience and understanding

 

AUI Power

Bayline Construction

Delaware Electric Cooperative

Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative

Northern Neck Electric Cooperative

NOVEC

PennLine

Pike Electric

Prince George Electric Cooperative

Sumter Electric

⛈️ Outage Update—July 6, 2026, 10:20 a.m. ⛈️

All remaining active outages have been assigned to a crew and we expect all storm-related outages to be restored today by 6 p.m.

Thank you, Southern Maryland, for your patience as crews have worked around the clock repairing the system and restoring power following the destructive storm that came through late on July 4.

⚡ Number of active outages: 11

🏠 Number of customers out: 130

📱 Outage map: https://outagemap.smeco.coop

⛈️ Outage Update—July 5, 2026, 5:30 p.m. ⛈️

Restoration from the Independence Day storm continues across our service area.

We now have nine contractor crews (42 personnel) assisting with restoration, with all expected to be on site this afternoon. We are also receiving mutual aid from several neighboring cooperatives. Thank you to AUI Power, Bayline Construction, Delaware Electric Cooperative, Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative, Northern Neck Electric Cooperative, NOVEC, PennLine, Prince George Electric Cooperative, and Sumter Electric for sending crews to help.

So far, we have identified more than 20 broken poles, along with dozens of damaged crossarms and other equipment that must be repaired or replaced before power can be safely restored.

At this time, we have established a global estimated restoration time of 6 p.m. Monday, July 6, for substantial completion of storm restoration.

Thank you for your patience as our crews continue working safely to restore power.

As of 5:05 p.m., crews have restored power to more than 27,000 members since the storm began. Crews continue working to restore service to all remaining members.

⚡ Number of active outages: 77

🏠 Number of customers out: 1,506

⏰ Estimated time of restoration (ETR): During major storm events or other times when there is a high volume of outages, the ETR may not immediately be available when the outage is reported. If an ETR is available, you will automatically receive a text message with that information. You can also visit our outage map to view the number of outages and the ETR for your area. 

📱 Outage map: https://outagemap.smeco.coop

Report an outage:

SMECO’s meters can detect power outages remotely, but members are always welcome to report an outage through any of our available reporting options.

⛈️ Outage Update—July 5, 2026, 9:30 a.m. ⛈️

Late evening storms on July 4 brought damaging winds and heavy rain, toppling trees and limbs, causing road closures and widespread outages. Many of the outages sustained during this storm included broken poles and downed wires, which can take longer to fix because crews must safely clear debris, replace damaged infrastructure, and often rebuild sections of the electrical system before power can be restored.

SMECO’s crews worked through the evening to restore power. In addition to our native crews, SMECO has secured additional crews to support our continued restoration efforts.

A large tree fell across two 69-kV transmission lines, causing an extended outage at a substation in Prince Frederick. The tree has been removed and the transmission lines repaired, enabling our Distribution Operations team to re-energize certain sections of Prince Frederick.

As of 9:35 a.m., crews have restored power to more than 25,000 members since the storm began. Crews continue working to restore service to all remaining members.

⚡ Number of active outages: 138

🏠 Number of customers out: 3,327

⏰ Estimated time of restoration (ETR): During major storm events or other times when there is a high volume of outages, the ETR may not immediately be available when the outage is reported. If an ETR is available, you will automatically receive a text message with that information. You can also visit our outage map to view the number of outages and the ETR for your area. 

📱 Outage map: https://outagemap.smeco.coop