If you’re eligible to receive capital credits from Oklahoma Electric Cooperative this year, you’ll notice one important change. Instead of receiving a check in the mail, your capital credit retirement will automatically appear as a credit on your September electric bill. The amount you’re receiving isn’t changing—only the way you receive it. The new process reduces printing and mailing costs, gets credits to members faster and eliminates concerns about lost or uncashed checks.

What’s changing?

For many years, OEC mailed paper checks to members receiving capital credit retirements.

Beginning this year, eligible members will instead see a line-item credit on their September electric bill.

The credit will automatically reduce the amount owed that month. If your capital credit exceeds your bill, the remaining balance will carry forward and continue reducing future bills until the full amount has been applied.

Members with multiple accounts will receive the credit on their primary electric account.

Prepaid members can expect the credit to be applied during the first week of September.

“This change doesn’t affect how much members receive,” said CEO Patrick Grace. “September electric bills tend to be among the highest because they reflect late-summer energy use. Applying capital credit retirements as bill credits helps ease those seasonal costs.”

Am I receiving capital credits this year?

OEC’s Board of Trustees approved retiring $2 million in capital credits.

Eligible members include those who received electric service during portions of 2011, 2012 and/or 2013.

Members who established electric service after 2013 will receive their allocated capital credits in future retirement cycles.

Current members receive their retirement as a September bill credit.

Former members who are owed capital credits will continue receiving a paper check by mail in September.

What are capital credits?

One of the biggest advantages of being served by a cooperative is that you’re more than a customer—you’re a member-owner.

Each year, after OEC covers operating expenses, any remaining margins are allocated back to members based on the amount of electricity they purchased during that year.

Those allocations are tracked as capital credits.

When the cooperative’s financial condition allows, OEC’s Board of Trustees approves retiring a portion of those accumulated capital credits, returning that value to members.

Why cooperatives are different

Investor-owned utilities distribute profits to shareholders.

Electric cooperatives return value to the people who receive electric service.

Capital credits are one of the clearest examples of the cooperative business model in action. When OEC succeeds financially, members benefit because they own the cooperative.

That commitment reflects one of the Seven Cooperative Principles and remains one of the unique benefits of cooperative membership.

What do members need to do?

Nothing.

If you’re eligible, your capital credit retirement will automatically appear as a credit on your September electric bill.

No forms are required and no action is needed.

To learn more about capital credits, visit okcoop.org/capitalcredits.