Hancock-Wood Electric board approves $3 million capital credit return to members

On this December electric bill, you may notice a credit listed on your bill. Because

Hancock-Wood Electric operates at cost, we give money back to our members

rather than outside investors or shareholders. The board voted to return a total

of $3,011,074 in capital credits to the members of the co-op.

Hancock-Wood is not for profit, so any funds left over after bills have been paid,

infrastructure built, and an emergency fund established goes into capital credits accounts

for each co-op member. Then, when your board of directors determines the co-op is in

good financial shape, this capital is returned to you, either as a check or bill credit. How

much money you get back depends on how much electricity you used.

Capital credits refunds are to you what dividends are to stockholders at for-profit

companies. Only we don’t aim to make a profit. Our goal is to provide you with electricity

at a price that is as close to cost as possible. That way, more of your money stays in your

pocket — up front. You and others who receive electricity from us are the owners. Of

course, being an owner doesn’t mean you can drive to a substation and take home a

transformer or borrow a spool of wire. Those assets are owned collectively by everyone

who has signed up for electric service. A portion of the electric bill you pay each month,

in fact, goes into building the distribution infrastructure — poles, wires, and substations

— that brings you a steady supply of power. Cooperatives follow a unique consumer-

focused business model led by a set of seven principles.

The third cooperative principle, “Members’ Economic Participation,” requires all of us to

chip in a bit on our monthly bill to keep Hancock-Wood in good shape. Your cooperative

conducts business locally. Investments we make in infrastructure don’t profit someone in

an area far away; benefits stay right here in our community.

In short, you are receiving a vital resource, electricity, from a business owned and

operated by you, your friends, and your neighbors. Working together, we provide you

with the highest level of service we can while striving to keep your electric bills affordable