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TO THE POWER LINES A MESSAGE FROM THE CEO
Why Vegetation Management Matters
Here on the Eastern Shore, we take pride in the natural beauty that surrounds us. Especially our lush trees that provide shade on a summer afternoon and change colors to mark a new season.
Choptank Electric has a responsibility to keep your lights on and takes pride in powering your homes and businesses. That’s why we work every day to strike a careful balance between preserving the beauty we cherish and delivering the reliable electricity you expect.
One of the most important ways we do that is through regular tree trimming. Keeping lines clear of overgrown vegetation and dead or weakened limbs plays a major role in preventing power outages.
We’ve all seen what can happen when severe weather rolls in with strong winds, heavy ice or sudden storms. Mother Nature can bring down branches and, with them, power lines and poles. In fact, nearly half of all power outages can be traced back to trees and vegetation coming into contact with electrical infrastructure.
That’s why you may notice crews from Choptank Electric or our trusted contractors from Asplundh trimming in neighborhoods throughout the year. Their work is a proactive step that helps avoid problems and increase reliability for our
infrastructure. Preventative maintenance like tree trimming, is also far more cost-effective than repairing widespread damage after an outage.
Beyond reliability and efficiency, there’s another reason this work matters: safety. Electricity is a powerful force, and when trees grow too close to power lines, that power can become dangerous. Branches that touch or come close to lines can carry electrical current. Children climbing trees in their own yards may not realize the risk.
You can help, too. Visit choptankelectric.coop/ vegetation-management to learn proper planting and digging practices around aboveground and belowground lines.
At the end of the day, we all want the same thing: a community that’s safe, resilient and beautiful. At Choptank Electric, we’re proud to be part of that effort. Our roots run deep here, just like the trees we work to care for.
Mike Malandro, President & CEO Choptank Electric Co-op
Celebrating 88 Years of Choptank Electric Cooperative
More than 350 members joined us at Choptank Electric’s 88th Annual Member Meeting on April 23 in Salisbury. We were honored to spend the evening together and connect with you and your families.
After a delicious dinner and time networking with our staff, associations and partners, the annual meeting kicked off. Our President and CEO, Mike Malandro, highlighted the work done by your Cooperative in 2025 to maintain our level of exceptional service at competitive prices and continue to support our rural members through Choptank Fiber. He also announced the $3 million capital credit retirement that was applied to members’ May electric bills.
Members voted to pass updated bylaws and reelected the following uncontested Board members during the annual meeting to another three-year term: John Burke Jr. of Cecil County, Craig Mathies Sr. of Somerset County, Jeff Rathell Sr. of Talbot County and Bob Thompson of Ocean Pines.
The evening concluded with bill credit drawings and our Luck of the Draw Scholarship drawing, awarding ten $1,000 scholarships to student members who attended the meeting.
A full recap of the Cooperative in 2025 can be found online at choptankelectric.coop/financialinformation.
Notice of Adoption of Bylaws Amendments
Pursuant to the Cooperative’s bylaws, section 10.09(e), this serves as notice to the Members that the bylaws have been amended. These changes were submitted to a vote of the Members and approved at the Cooperative’s
Annual Meeting in April 2026. The bylaws are always available on the Governance page of the website at > choptankelectric.coop/ governance. Please direct any questions to: legal@choptankelectric.coop.
Welcoming New Employees
CJ Myers
Manager of Smart Grid and Renewables
Experience: Delaware Electric Cooperative
Hobbies: Formula 1, Legos and traveling
Looking forward to: Meeting new people and working on saving Choptank members money on their power bills
Daniel Cropper
Work Order & Material Coordinator
Experience: Growmark FS, Eastern Shore Distributing
Hobbies: Spending time with family, being outdoors, hunting and fishing
Looking forward to: Learning and understanding the field and industry and becoming a valued asset to the daily operations at Choptank
Choptank congratulates the following employees on their promotions:
Jason Gaskill
Manager
of Operations, Cambridge
Aaron
Blazejak
Assistant Manager of Operations, Salisbury
De'Shown
Gayle Journeyman
Greg Harmon Manager of Operations, Salisbury
Tyler Williamson Journeyman
Frankie Davis Journeyman
2025 Capital Credit Allocation Notice
As a nonprofit member-owned utility, any margins (profits) above the cost of service are allocated back to our member-owners based on how much electricity each member purchased during the year. The allocated capital credits act as a record of ownership and reinvestment in the co-op.
The 2025 capital credit allocation was processed after the 2025 financial statements were reviewed and audited. The 2025 capital credit allocation notice for active members will show on their June 2026 electric bill in the left message area above the bill stub. Inactive members with 2025 electricity billings will be mailed a separate allocation notice.
The capital credits (margins) allocated to members’ accounts for 2025 total $14,625,303. This is allocated between Choptank Electric (Co-op), which totals $10,356,778 and Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (ODEC), Choptank’s energy supplier, which totals $4,268,525.
Choptank Electric’s Board of Directors reviews the Co-op portion of capital credits each year and decides how and when to repay the amounts allocated. Their decision is based on a variety of factors, including the overall financial condition of the Cooperative. Last month, the Board retired allocated capital credits from 1997 and 2024 that appeared as credit on members’ May electric bills. Any decision to repay the ODEC portion of capital credits would be entirely contingent upon refunds received from Choptank's energy supplier.
If you have questions about your capital credits, please contact our Member Service Center at 1-877-892-0001 and have your account number available.
2025 COMMUNITY IMPACT REPORT
Choptank Electric
Cooperative is proud to serve our community as a not-forprofit electric distribution coop. We operate by the Seven Cooperative Principles that guide our decisions:
1. Voluntary and Open Membership
2. Democratic Member Control
3. Member Economic Participation
4. Autonomy and Independence
5. Education, Training and Information
6. Cooperation Among Cooperatives
7. Concern for Community
Cooperation Among Cooperatives
Cooperatives strengthen the movement by working together through local, regional and national partnerships. We are proud to be a member of the following cooperatives and associations:
CHOPTANK ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE
BY THE
NUMBERS
57,450 MEMBER ACCOUNTS
6,425 MILES OF LINE 8.9 METERS PER MILE 120.6
172 FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES 92%
MEMBERS ENROLLED IN OPERATION ROUND UP 1.47
NUMBER OF OUTAGES PER MEMBER
AVERAGE TIME OF INTERRUPTION IN MINUTES* 99.98%
AVERAGE SYSTEM RELIABILITY ** 209
AVERAGE DAILY CALLS TO CALL CENTER 12 seconds
AVERAGE SPEED TO ANSWER CALLS
EDUCATION, TRAINING AND INFORMATION
We know the value of education and training for our employees, community members and youth. One of the Seven Cooperative Principles that guides Choptank Electric is Education, Training and Information.
Throughout 2025, Choptank Electric participated in a variety of programs and events designed to connect with future leaders across the Eastern Shore. Throughout these events and tours, our employees taught about electric and
power line safety, careers in the utility and broadband industries, how electricity gets to their homes and provided hands-on interactions and demonstrations.
We awarded $37,000 in scholarships to local students pursuing higher education and took five high school students to Washington, D.C., on Youth Tour to learn about electric co-ops and meet with their U.S. Representatives and Senators. Choptank also continued its partnership with Junior
January 23, 2025, at hour ending 8 a.m. with 318,640 kW.
Achievement of the Eastern Shore’s Center through the utility storefront and the Inspire Career Fair.
In addition, the Powerline Worker Pre-Apprenticeship Program at Wor-Wic Community College graduated two more cohorts in 2025 and we hosted the annual Girl Power™ event at our facility in Salisbury for female students interested in the utility industry.
June 24, 2025, at hour ending 7 p.m. with 263,853 kW.
Choptank Fiber, LLC, is a wholly owned broadband subsidiary of Choptank Electric Cooperative, formed in 2020 at the request of the Cooperative’s members.
Five years after connecting our first customer, Choptank Fiber is proud to deliver:
· high-speed internet
· cell phone service
· in-home VoIP phone service
· MyBundle streaming service
· complimentary managed Wi-Fi through a mobile app to families and businesses throughout its service territory where traditional broadband providers would not build.
Choptank Fiber has connected over 5,700 customers with highspeed internet. With more than 2,000 miles of distribution fiber laid, service is now available to more than 13,000 locations. Since its first connection in 2021, Choptank Fiber has remained ahead of schedule in every aspect of its fiber construction and buildout process.
Choptank Fiber Mobile includes standard and unlimited plans that can be bundled with any internet package. And with streaming now an option for our Fiber customers with highspeed internet, we offer the MyBundle streaming service for selecting and purchasing streaming providers.
As Choptank Fiber looks to the future, it will continue to serve as the hub for technology on the Eastern Shore by providing rural businesses and consumers with the services and education they need.
13,596
Number of homes passed $63,000,000 Funds awarded from 25 expansion and infrastructure grants
605,750
Threats blocked by ProtectIQ
2,073
Miles of distribution fiber +80
Net Promoter Score
FIBER
■ Caroline - 2,269
■ Wicomico - 715
■ Somerset - 650
■ Worcester - 644
■ Dorchester - 536
■ Cecil - 489
■ Queen Anne’s - 392
■ Talbot - 2
■ Kent - 1
THANK YOU FOR ROUNDING UP!
Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry (FHFH) is a faithbased ministry aimed at reducing hunger in America by transforming donated deer and livestock into nutritious, high-protein meat for local food banks, ministries and needy families. FHFH provides funding to cover the costs of processing the meat.
Since being founded in 1997, hunters and farmers have donated over 1,250 tons of venison, resulting in over 10.3 million meals being served to those in need.
While FHFH has meat processors that serve the entire state, last December the Choptank Electric Trust donated $2,000 to fund meat processing in Worcester, Somerset and Wicomico counties on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
“We’re proud to be able to provide this service and help our community,” says Executive Director Josh Wilson.
2025-26 Season in Somerset, Wicomico and Worcester counties:
63 total deer donated / 2,400 lbs. of meat / 9,600 meals (servings)
To find out more information about FHFH, how to make a cash contribution or how to become a volunteer contact or coordinator, you can communicate directly with the organization by visiting their website at feedingthehungry.org
The Choptank Trust, a 501(c)(3) charitable foundation, awards organizations and individuals in all nine counties on the Eastern Shore with funds from Choptank Electric Cooperative’s Operation Round Up program. View recent awards below and learn more at: choptankelectric.coop/trust.
April 2026 Trust Awards
• Beach to Bay Heritage Area ..................... $1,190
• Camp Wright ................................ $2,000
• Caroline Tennis Association $1,000
• Chester River Chorale $250
• Horizons of Kent and Queen Anne’s County $4,658
• Talbot Thrive ................................ $1,000
• Furnace Town Foundation ....................... $2,500
The total of approved applications for April was $27,047, which included $14,449 for individual home and medical expenses.
Electric Cooperative, Inc. Choptank Fiber, LLC
Choptank Electric and Choptank Fiber exist to provide reliable and cost-effective services that improve the quality of life for our communities.
President & CEO
Micheal E. Malandro Board of Directors
John J. Burke Jr. Chairman, Cecil Co.
Robert B. Thompson Vice Chairman, Ocean Pines District
Donna Richardson West Secretary, Worcester Co.
Amy Ireland Brandt Treasurer, Caroline Co.
Douglas D. Scott Dorchester Co.
Kristen E. Nickerson Kent Co.
Robert E. Arnold Queen Anne’s Co.
Craig N. Mathies Sr. Somerset Co.
Jeffery D. Rathell Sr. Talbot Co.
Matthew R. Holloway Wicomico Co.
Choptank