Patronage Refunds On This Month's Bills

One of the major benefits of being a cooperative member is receiving a patronage refund, which is like money back from your power company.

Here's how it works: money remaining after WCEC's bills are paid each year is known as margins (it is the margin between income and expenses). This money is used for capital expenditures, such as building or replacing lines, and is not paid back immediately. This becomes your investment or equity in the company. In a for-profit company, this money would be called profit. In a cooperative, we call it capital credits because this money belongs to you not to the cooperative. To be a true nonprofit cooperative, this money is returned to you as a patronage refund.

At their June 23, 2020 meeting, the WCEC Board of Directors approved refunding patronage capital for the years 2017 and 2018. The refunds total $465,423 and have been refunded to current members as a bill credit on the bills they will receive on or about September 1, 2020.

Former WCEC members will be mailed a check to the last known address on file.

If you have any questions about your patronage refund, visit the WCEC office or call us at (979) 543-6271.