Cuivre River Electric Cooperative (CREC) members will receive over $6.7 million in the first week of August as part of the cooperative’s capital credit refund program.

An amount of $6,726,689 will be distributed, a decision recently made by CREC’s Board of Directors. Capital credits are similar to profit margins in other businesses and represent members’ ownership equity. If funds remain after all expenses for providing electric services have been met, capital credits are allocated after the close of a fiscal year.  Member capital is used in place of commercial loans to make infrastructure improvements and lower borrowing expenses and operational costs.

The amount of each member’s refund is based on a formula determined by the quantity and cost of kilowatt-hours (kwhs) purchased annually. Since 1976, CREC has returned $138 million to current and former members.

This year’s refunds include a portion of the cooperative’s 2023, 2000, and 2001 margins. They include 33 percent of members’ equity from 2023, 50 percent from 2001, and 100 percent of remaining equity from 2000.

The majority of current members will receive a check or a credit to their account, to be mailed or posted during the first week of August. Members with refunds of less than $25 or with a 30-day past-due balance will not receive a check. These refunds will be posted as energy bill credits to their account.

Capital credits are a unique benefit of being served by an electric cooperative and make CREC very different from most Missouri utilities. Investor-owned electric utilities send their margins, or profits, to stockholders, and municipally owned utilities keep their profits.

For more information, visit cuivre.com/capitalcredits, or call us at 800-392-3709.