Be on the lookout for a little something on your December bill that will make the holidays a little brighter – and the bill load lighter. It’s capital credit retirement time, and that means a little extra jingle in the pockets of all members. That’s because payments are allotted on a percentage basis of the capital credits each member has accrued over the years.
Capital credits represent a member’s capital participation as a member of Wood County Electric Cooperative (WCEC), based on their electricity purchases. Each year, the board of directors of WCEC reviews the financial condition of the cooperative to determine what amount can be paid to members from their capital credit accounts. Their decision is based on the previous year’s margins, and the current financial needs of WCEC. This year the board approved retiring $1.5 million in capital credits. This is an increase over last year of $500,000.
Payments will be made in the form of a bill credit. WCEC has several billing cycles. The credits will appear on bills mailed from December 6, 2019 through January 2, 2020, and your bill will be reduced by the amount of the credit. For those on pre-pay, the amount will be added as credit on the account and then uploaded as electricity purchased.
Bill credits are eco-friendly and eliminate costs associated with sending checks. As a non-profit electric cooperative, WCEC strives to keep your bills low. We adopted this efficiency 2 years ago, which simplifies the process for members, and the cooperative, while also saving money.
In total, over the last 30 years over $26 million has been returned to our members for a tremendous positive impact on our local economy. Credits earned are not a vested interest in the cooperative. They are only paid out when capital credits on the books are retired. The amount of retired capital credits paid to each member varies depending on the amount of electricity purchased and the number of years as a member of the cooperative.
As a reminder, be sure to inform us of any mailing address change to ensure timely receipt of any future payments. If you have such a change or a question about your check, please email us a note, or call one of our Member Services Representatives at (903) 763-2203.