Capital Credits

Allocated capital credits appear as an entry on the permanent financial records of the co-op and reflect your equity or ownership in SEC.  When capital credits are retired, a check or bill credit is issued to you and your equity in the co-op is reduced. 

You should receive an allocation notice annually after the accounting records from the previous year have been closed out and audited by the Cooperative’s independent public accounting firm. 

The amount of capital credits you earn in a given year is based upon the amount of capital you contribute to the co-op through payment of your monthly bills. The sum of your monthly bills for a year is multiplied by a percentage to determine your capital credits. 

No special action is required to start a capital credits account. Your membership activates your capital credits account. 

No. Capital credits are calculated based upon a member’s patronage. If you are billed for service for even one month, you will accumulate some capital credits if SEC earned margins in that year. 

The capital credits of a deceased member may be paid at a discount without waiting for a general retirement. However, these estate payments are not automatic. A representative of the deceased member must contact SEC to initiate the process. If the membership is jointly held by a spouse, the estate will only be retired after both the member and spouse are deceased.

Not necessarily. The Board of Directors analyzes the financial health of the Cooperative and will not authorize a retirement if SEC cannot afford it.

They remain on the books in your name until they are retired. You should ensure that SEC has your current mailing address.