Capital Credits Allocation Information on Your May Electric Bill

Posted: May 1, 2018 at 7:00 am

All electric cooperatives, including Peace River Electric Cooperative, are owned by the people they serve. While investor- owned utilities (IOUs) strive to create profit for stockholders, electric co-ops exist to provide electric service to their member- owners at the lowest possible cost.

Technically, since cooperatives are not-for-profit organizations, they don’t create profits. Instead, they generate margins. Margins = revenues minus expenses.

As a member-owner, you share in the margins PRECO generates. Margins are allocated to your Capital Credits account in proportion to the amount of electricity you purchase in a given year. Your Capital Credits account is the sum of your allocations earned through 2017, less any refunds issued to date.

Capital Credits are used to build and maintain the facilities needed to serve electricity to the cooperative’s members until it is financially feasible to return them. PRECO members with an active electric account will find their Capital Credits Allocation for 2017 in the “Important Information” box on their May electric bill. A postcard will be sent to inactive members informing them of their allocation amount.