MONROE, Ga. – When most Walton Electric Membership Corporation (EMC) customer-owners review their bill this December, they’ll notice a nice credit. That’s because the cooperative is returning another $6 million in the latest capital credit refund.
The cooperative’s board of directors recently approved this year’s distribution, bringing the all-time total returned to $93,571,000. Customer-owners who had accounts in 1991, 1992, 1993 and/or 2016 are included. That means more than 95 percent of current customer-owners will get a refund.
“Walton EMC is a cooperative, owned by the same people who receive its services,” said CEO Ronnie Lee. “Showing a profit is self-defeating and is why we return leftover revenues. The individual amount returned to customer-owners is based on their electric bills, or, in other words, the amount of business they did with their company.”
After paying off debt and establishing a reserve for unexpected events (like a catastrophic ice storm), the board determines if it’s financially prudent to issue a refund. If so, most refunds are distributed by a credit on electric bills. This saves the cooperative and its customer-owners tens of thousands of dollars in check printing and postage costs.
Walton EMC provides electric service to 127,000 residential and business accounts in a 10-county area between Atlanta and Athens. Because its customers own the company, service – not profit – is Walton EMC’s primary focus.
2017 Refund Facts
- Amount – $6 million
- Timeframe – early December through early January
- Total capital credits returned to date – $93,571,000
- Years refunded in current disbursement – 1991, 1992, 1993 and/or 2016
- Distribution method – bill credit, unless the amount is $500 or more. All refunds of $500 or more will be issued by check.
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