Falcon, CO – Mountain View Electric Association, Inc.’s (MVEA) Board of Directors will retire 3.8 million dollars back to its members in the form of capital credits, or disbursement checks, mid-December 2020. MVEA will issue more than 36,750 checks to active and inactive members with a capital credits balance over $10. Since 2013, MVEA’s Board has used a hybrid first-in, first-out (FIFO) 80 percent with a last-in, first-out (LIFO) 20 percent capital credits retirement system to increase the number of checks issued to members.
Capital credits are one of the many differences between other utilities and electric cooperatives. Electric co-ops have members, not customers, and they operate at cost as not-for-profit businesses. Any excess revenues are returned to members in the form of capital credits – after power is purchased, infrastructure costs and operating expenses are paid – proof positive that cooperative membership has its benefits.
When the board deems the co-op is financially capable of doing so, capital credits are retired (paid) to members. Dedication to fiscally responsible business practices and planning has enabled MVEA to retire more than 71.5 million in capital credits back to members since MVEA’s first retirement over 40 years ago.
The MVEA Board of Directors is firmly committed to retiring capital credits. It is the directors’ belief that the allocation and retirement of capital credits is one of the most unique and rewarding benefits of being a member of an electric cooperative. Their dedication to this belief puts MVEA in the top 35 percent of electric co-ops in the U.S. retiring capital credits, according to the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation.
If MVEA does not have a past-member’s current address, they cannot get the capital credits check to them…where it belongs. If you move outside of MVEA’s service territory, please be sure to provide MVEA with your new mailing address every time you move. Don’t miss out on your share of the cooperative!