Those who paid electric bills to Coastal Electric Cooperative any time from 2008-2009 can expect money back from the coop by the end of December. In total, Coastal Electric will retire over $2.6 million in capital credits to around 11,000 members who received service during those years.

Checks will be mailed in December to those receiving a refund of more than $25. Amounts less than $25 will be delivered in the form of bill credits.

To date, Coastal Electric Cooperative has retired nearly $16 million in capital credits to members.

Retiring capital credits is part of the cooperative business model, and is a regular practice of the not-for-profit co-op. When member revenues exceed costs, those margins become the member’s equity in the cooperative. When the financial strength of the cooperative allows, the member-elected board of directors can order the return of a portion of that equity.

The Coastal Electric Cooperative board of directors approved this year’s capital credits retirement during a board meeting Oct. 30.

Because they have voting rights and other benefits, those who pay bills to Coastal Electric are “members,” not just customers. As the co-op is not-forprofit, members’ electric bills collectively cover what is needed to supply power to their homes and businesses – generating the power at plants, buying lines and poles to deliver electricity, maintaining equipment to keep service reliable, and compensating employees who make it all happen.

When the co-op’s elected board of directors determines it is financially feasible, Coastal Electric retires excess margins back to members, allocated by how much electricity they used in a given year.

For more information on capital credits, visit CoastalElectric. Coop/capital-credits.