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Holiday Cheer

  By: Chris Reese, President & CEO

  Email: contacttheceo@sussexrec.com

2022 is wrapping up, and longtime members of Sussex Rural Electric Cooperative know what the end of the year brings with it. Besides gifts from Santa Claus, SREC members can also look forward to capital credit checks from their Co-op!

If you aren’t familiar, capital credits are a unique benefit of cooperative membership. Any profits made by Sussex Rural Electric Cooperative each year are cataloged and eventually returned to our members in the form of a check. Checks for our upcoming capital credit retirement are going out this month and may come in handy as an extra bit of spending money for any last-minute presents.

This year, we will be retiring $800,000 total – approximately $413,000 from the year 2004 and $387,000 from the year 2021. This means that if you were a member of Sussex Rural Electric Cooperative during either (or both) of these years, you can look forward to receiving a capital credit payment.

"In the last 10 years, we have given back over $6.5 million to our members through capital credit retirements. Our hope is that each year’s capital credit retirement helps spread some holiday cheer across our service territory."

This money is our members’ share of the profits from these specific years. As a not-for-profit utility, Sussex Rural Electric Cooperative returns any profits made during its operations to its members. Before these funds are officially “retired” to be returned to members, they are reinvested into our system. This helps cover costs and makes sure we have funds on hand to help cover weather-related disasters or other emergencies. Our board of directors meets each year to review the Co-op’s financial standing and decides if it is prudent to retire capital credits.

Capital credits are a unique part of our business model that exemplifies “the Cooperative Difference.” Unlike other electric utilities, we do not provide service to generate profits for investors. We are a not-for-profit utility that was formed by members of this community to serve this community. Sussex Rural Electric Cooperative is led by a board of directors made up of members like yourselves. The money that comes from members through their bills covers the costs of providing electric service. Any margins made are invested back into the system that serves our community. Later on, these margins are returned to the members in proportion to the electricity they’ve used in their homes during the years in question.

For years, SREC has been consistently retiring capital credits to its members in December. In the last 10 years, we have given back over $6.5 million to our members through capital credit retirements. Our hope is that each year’s capital credit retirement helps spread some holiday cheer across our service territory. To take full advantage of this, please be sure to cash your check! Every year, we find that a sizeable percentage of members never cash their checks. This is YOUR money that was allocated back to you based on what you paid for electricity in the relevant years of your membership. Do not miss out on this chance at a bit of extra money in your pocket.

And of course, if you plan to move out of our service territory, please be sure to provide a forwarding address to us when you close your account. When you move, any capital credits you have with us are still reserved for you, but you will not receive this money if we don’t know the right place to send it.

If you are set to receive a capital credit check this year, we hope that it brings with it a little bit of holiday cheer from your Co-op. We are truly grateful for you all and are honored to work for the benefit of our members and our community. On behalf of myself, our board of directors, and the entire Sussex Rural Electric Cooperative team, we wish you all a Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and a spectacular New Year!