Click Here For Archived Manager's Reports

September 2008

Capital Credits: Only Co-ops Pay You Back

Electric co-ops nationwide retire more than $500 million in capital credits every year and return that money to the Americans they serve. Only co-ops return their revenues (called "margins") to their consumer-members in their own hometowns.

FKEC returned $1,185,000 to its members and former members this year as capital credits.

More than one in every ten Americans is served by an electric cooperative, but many members are still confused by capital credits and why they receive them. This year, FKEC is issuing capital credit refunds to 11,258 account holders or former account holders as either refund checks or as credits on their bills.

Although cooperative utilities provide power to homes and businesses in the same way as other types of electric utilities, cooperatives are owned by consumers (not private investors or the government). All cooperatives are also guided by seven principles that reflect the best interests of those consumers.

One of the seven principles is "Members' Economic Participation," which means that all members contribute equitably to the capital of their cooperative through their monthly electric bills.

This year, FKEC is returning the remaining balance of the capital contributed by members in 1990. Individual refunds amounts vary based on the amount of electricity used by each member in 1990.

FKEC retains its margins for a number of years before returning them, so you had to be a member in 1990 to get a check this year. It is important that members moving away from the area keep a current address on file with FKEC in order to receive refunds in the future.

FKEC maintains an individual "Capital Credits Account" for every consumer-member, past and present, and the dollar amount allocated to each account annually is based on the amount of electricity that member consumed that year. Margins are retained by FKEC for a number of years to improve the electric system. For more Capital Credits Questions & Answers, click here.

So remember...you’re not just a consumer, you’re a member!

Scott is an active member of the Upper Keys community and is a past president, current director and president-elect of the Rotary Club of Key Largo, is a director for the Key Largo Chamber of Commerce and is co-founder and president of the Upper Keys Golf Association.

In 1994, Scott completed the three-year national electrical course for apprentice linemen to further his education in cooperative operations. He is a graduate of Leadership Monroe County Class XI and completed the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association's Management Internship Program in 2005.

Scott graduated from Arkansas State University with a degree in Agriculture Business and Economics in 1986. In 1988, he began his career in the electricity industry when he joined the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) in Washington, D.C. With the REA, he worked first as a Commercial Loan Specialist and was later promoted to Power Requirements Officer before moving to the Florida Keys to join FKEC in 1990.