Sawnee Electric Membership Corporation to return $6 million in capital credits to 137,500 members

$6 million distribution targets members from 2008–2009

An electric cooperative serving the northern metro Atlanta area is issuing $6 million in refunds to current and former customer-owners through a capital credits retirement approved by its board. The distribution will go to about 137,500 members, including households and businesses that received electric service during 2008 and 2009.

The cooperative model differs from investor-owned utilities in how excess revenues are handled. Electric membership cooperatives are organized as not-for-profit entities owned by the people they serve. When annual revenues exceed the cost of operations and required financial obligations, the remainder is treated as operating margin and allocated to members as patronage capital, often referred to as capital credits.

What capital credits are, and why refunds often arrive years later

Capital credits represent a member’s allocated share of the cooperative’s margins for a given year, typically based on that member’s electric purchases during that period. Rather than immediately paying those amounts out, cooperatives commonly retain the funds as equity to support operations and long-term infrastructure needs—such as maintaining poles and lines, upgrading equipment, restoring service after storms, and sustaining reserves.

Board-approved “retirements” are the mechanism by which a cooperative returns a portion of those accumulated capital credits to the members tied to the years selected for retirement. The timing can span many years because cooperatives generally retire capital credits only when financial conditions support doing so while maintaining system reliability and adequate reserves.

Who will receive the money and how it is typically delivered

The $6 million retirement is structured to reach both current members and people or businesses that have since left the service area. In cooperative practice, current accounts often receive refunds as bill credits, while former members generally receive checks mailed to the last known address on file.

Refund amounts vary member to member. The cooperative approach ties individual refunds to the member’s share of patronage during the years being retired, meaning higher usage and higher bills in those years typically translate into a larger capital credit allocation.

Why the announcement matters for metro Atlanta households and businesses

For current members, bill credits can reduce near-term electric costs. For former members, the distribution functions more like a delayed return of equity built up during prior years of service. The payment also highlights a core cooperative feature: customers are member-owners, and excess revenues—after operating costs and financial requirements—can be returned to those members rather than distributed to outside shareholders.

• Total distribution: $6 million
• Estimated recipients: about 137,500 current and former members
• Service years included: 2008 and 2009

For former members, cooperatives generally rely on maintained account records to deliver checks; keeping addresses current is often essential for receiving future retirements.