By Lauren Procopio, The Calvert County Times, lauren [at] somdpublishing.net
HOLLYWOOD (Sept. 11, 2014)—Calvert County is officially losing its only SMECO office on Nov. 30, with the service counter closing Nov. 21.
According to SMECO Spokesperson Tom Dennison, “we are making this transition because it makes sound business sense; it allows us to consolidate and centralize our workforce and to streamline our operations.”
According to Dennison, other factors for shutting down the Prince Frederick office were “a persistent slow-down in construction and a declining percentage of walk-in traffic in Calvert County.”
Dennison also said Prince Frederick represented only eight percent of the company’s workload, “from a business standpoint it made sense for them to transfer them,” he said.
“This transition will enable us to maximize the use of our Engineering and Operations Center in Hughesville, which was completed last year. With specially designed truck bays, equipment storage and security, this state-of-the-art facility provides our linemen with a safe, modern work environment that is unsurpassed,” said Dennison.
The full-time employees will be reassigned to the offices in Hughesville and Leonardtown; the company is working with their part-time employees to find them employment at the Contact Center in Hughesville.
SMECO is keeping their Leonardtown office open as a contact center in case of an emergency and as their back-up operations center.
Dennison confirmed SMECO’s first responders for Calvert are taking their service trucks home with them in order for quick dispatches. SMECO will continue to own property in Calvert to store equipment, poles, transformers, and other necessary tools.
Calvert customers can pay their bills through mail, electrically, or by calling the Contact Center, which is open 24/7. “The key thing to remember is our presence in Calvert will not change,” Dennison said.
For more local news, visit the Calvert County Times online at ct.somd.com