Capital Credits - Allocations are saved and retirements are paid.
What are they? Capital Credits are one of the benefits of membership with a non-profit electric cooperative such as EEA.
EEA operates on a non-profit basis, and as a member, you are entitled to a share in excess margins. “Capital Credits” is the term used for the allocation of each member’s share of the margins. These margins are the difference between what members paid for their electric service and what the service cost the cooperative to provide.
Capital Credits are retained by the cooperative for a number of years as operating capital, reducing the need to borrow money to run the business, which could cause a raise in the cost of electric service to our members. EEA returns or “retires” the capital credits earned by members on an approximately 20 year cycle.
Once you have established membership with EEA, Capital Credits are an important reason to keep your address updated with EEA, even though you may no longer be an active member or live in this area. When capital credits are retired for the years you had service with us, your up-to-date address will enable us to send your capital credit check.
Membership at EEA not only ensures electricity at affordable rates, you also become a part owner of the cooperative! This ownership gives you a voice in operation, through your elected board and a share in the margins earned by your cooperative.
As a member of a rural electric cooperative, you receive a refund of your allocated capital credits when the Board of Directors elects to retire capital credits. You can choose an option for your capital credit refund. You can choose to donate it, receive a credit on your bill, or receive a check. The option you choose below will be in effect for all future refunds until you notify us that you would like to do something else.
