It Pays to Be a Member
As a member of Berkeley Electric Cooperative, you are also an owner. When you make a payment to Berkeley Electric, a portion of that payment goes directly toward your "capital" investment in our electrical system. Unlike investor-owned utilities that generate profits on behalf of shareholders, not-for-profit electric cooperatives return any profits, or margins, to their members in the as a credit.
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Who gets a capital credit refund? Every member who bought electricity from Berkeley Electric Cooperative during the previous year or before.
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When do you return capital credits? Each year, Berkeley Electric's Board of Trustees evaluates how much to pay, taking into consideration such factors as the impact on electric rates and financial strength of the co-op. Capital credits may not be returned every year.
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How is my refund amount determined? Your refund amount is based on the amount of electricity used and the years of service that are retired.
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How are the funds paid? Members receiving refund amounts of $20 or more receive a check in the mail; amounts under $20 are issued as a bill credit.
Capital Credit FAQs
Patronage Capital (also known as capital credits) are the margins (profits) that the cooperative realizes each year. Your cooperative’s margin is any money left after all operating expenses have been paid. Since members are owners of the cooperative, all of that money will be allocated to the member-owner’s accounts based on energy used by the member.
At the end of each operational year, capital credits are allocated based on the margins (revenues minus expenses) achieved in a given year and then pro-rated among the members based on the amount of energy each member contributed in purchasing electric service. The allocation of capital credits is merely a notification to a cooperative member that the cooperative realized a margin (profit) for the fiscal year and, in accordance with its bylaws, is allocating a pro rate share of the margin to the member, based on the member’s kWh usage.
The retirement (disbursement) of capital credits is determined each year by the Board of Trustees elected by the membership. The retirement is based on the equity necessary to maintain the financial soundness of the Cooperative.
Historically, margins have been returned at the end of the year. This allows the Cooperative to use the margins throughout the year to improve the quality of service and to increase the system’s capacity to deliver electricity. This permits Berkeley Electric Cooperative to borrow less money to continually upgrade your electrical system.
If you no longer have service with Berkeley Electric Cooperative and change your address, please notify the Cooperative with the new information since you will receive future correspondence concerning your capital credits account.
The Cooperative is required to maintain a list of unclaimed or abandoned capital credits. To determine if any of these credits belong to you please check the following database or contact your local district office.
Berkeley Electric Cooperative bylaws provide for an early retirement of the capital credits of a deceased member to his or her estate. Representatives of a deceased member's estate must contact the cooperative and supply the necessary legal documents before a refund can be made. No early retirement of capital credits is allowed in the case of dissolution of a corporation or partnership. Under these circumstances, an assignment of the capital credits to another Berkeley Electric Coop member would be allowed with the proper documentation.
Upon the death of either spouse in a joint membership, the name of the deceased person is removed from the membership and the membership is then held solely by the surviving spouse. A joint membership is not eligible for an early retirement upon the death of one of its members.
The member should inform our office of any changes in his or her mailing address. it is a member's responsibility to make sure the cooperative has up-to-date address information at all times. Each year, hundreds of refund checks are returned to the cooperative with invalid addresses.