When you pay your bill each month, you earn equity in the cooperative. Unlike electric utilities that generate margins on behalf of investors and shareholders, CCEC and other cooperatives return the margins earned to their members.

At the close of each fiscal year, all revenue received in excess of expenses (margins) is allocated to members in the form of capital credits. The allocation is made after the finances for the previous year have been audited and CCEC's books have been closed. 

The 2023 margins – $3,311,436.75 – have been allocated to 47,172 members’ capital credit accounts based on the amount of electricity each member used during the year. If a member had more than one account active in 2023, they will have allocations for each. 

The factor used to calculate the allocations was 4.833901%. For example: If a member paid $1,757 in electric bills in 2023 (based on average monthly residential electric use of 1,092 kWh), the capital credit allocation would be $84.96 ($1,757 x .04833901). 

Capital credits are a tangible benefit of belonging to an electric co-op. Those funds are held for several years and are used by CCEC to fund capital needs for items such as power line construction, transformers, trucks, inventory, and other equipment. Capital credits also help keep rates at an affordable level by reducing the amount of funds the co-op borrows to maintain and grow its electric distribution system. 

A percentage of your capital credits are returned to you after the CCEC Board of Directors reviews the co-op's financial health and declares a retirement of a portion of capital credits, typically in September.