Choptank Electric Cooperative Incorporated is a not-for-profit

Non-profit organization

Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...

 energy organization formed on September 21, 1938. Its first electric distribution

Electric power distribution

File:Electricity grid simple- North America.svg|thumb|380px|right|Simplified diagram of AC electricity distribution from generation stations to consumers...

 lines were energized in December 1939 in Caroline County, Maryland

Caroline County, Maryland

Caroline County is a wholly rural county located in the U.S. state of Maryland on its Eastern Shore. It is bordered by Queen Anne's County to the north, Talbot County to the west, Dorchester County to the south, Kent County, Delaware, to the east, and Sussex County, Delaware, to the southeast. As...

. The cooperative

Cooperative

A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...

 was instrumental in the effort to provide electric power to the rural areas of Maryland's Eastern Shore

Eastern Shore of Maryland

The Eastern Shore of Maryland is a territorial part of the U.S. state of Maryland that lies predominately on the east side of the Chesapeake Bay and consists of nine counties. The origin of term Eastern Shore was derived to distinguish a territorial part of the State of Maryland from the Western...

.

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 County, Maryland

Cecil County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. It is part of the Delaware Valley. It was named for Cæcilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore , who was the first Proprietary Governor of the colony of Maryland from 1632 until his death in 1675. The county seat is Elkton. The newspaper...

, Dorchester

Dorchester County, Maryland

Dorchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland on its Eastern Shore. It is bordered by the Choptank River to the north, Talbot County to the northwest, Caroline County to the northeast, Wicomico County to the southeast, Sussex County, Delaware, to the east, and the Chesapeake...

, Kent

Kent County, Maryland

Kent County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland, on its Eastern Shore. It was named for the county of Kent in England. Its county seat is Chestertown. In 2010, the county population was 20,197...

, Queen Anne's

Queen Anne's County, Maryland

Queen Anne's County is a county located on the Eastern Shore of the U.S. state of Maryland.As of 2010, the population was 47,798. Its county seat and most populous municipality is Centreville. The census-designated place of Stevensville is the county's most populous place...

, Somerset

Somerset County, Maryland

-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*53.5% White*42.3% Black*0.3% Native American*0.7% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*1.7% Two or more races*1.5% Other races*3.3% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...

, Talbot

Talbot County, Maryland

-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*81.4% White*12.8% Black*0.2% Native American*1.2% Asian*0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*1.6% Two or more races*2.7% Other races*5.5% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...

, Wicomico

Wicomico County, Maryland

As of the census of 2010, there were 98,733 people, 37,220 households, and 24,172 families residing in the county. The population density was 261.7 people per square mile . There were 41,192 housing units at an average density of 109.2 per square mile...

, and Worcester

Worcester County, Maryland

-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*82.0% White*13.6% Black*0.3% Native American*1.1% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*1.7% Two or more races*1.3% Other races*3.2% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...

 counties on Maryland'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

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

.

Choptank Electric, with headquarters in Denton, Maryland

Denton, Maryland

Denton is a town in Caroline County, Maryland, United States. The population was 2,960 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Caroline County. Denton is the birthplace of former Delaware governor Sherman W. Tribbitt and author Sophie Kerr, as well as the long time home of former Maryland...

, is a Touchstone Energy Cooperative

Touchstone Energy

Touchstone Energy Cooperatives is a cooperative federation composed of over 660 local, consumer-owned utility cooperatives in 46 of the 50 United States. Touchstone Energy co-ops serve more than 30 million members. Electric utility cooperatives distribute power for 75 percent of the U.S. land mass...

 and a member of Old Dominion Electric Cooperative

Old Dominion Electric Cooperative

Old Dominion Electric Cooperative is an electric generation and transmission cooperative headquartered in Glen Allen, Virginia. ODEC provides wholesale power to its 11 member electric cooperatives in Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware. Through these member cooperatives, ODEC provided over 11 million...

, a generation and transmission cooperative.