Your slice of the pie
PVREA is a not-for-profit electric co-op and we belong to the communities we serve. Which means we're not in the business of making profits, we're in the business of serving you, our member. We return margins in the form of member credits - paid directly to our members by a check in the mail or a bill credit.
2018 Member Credits
This year, the co-op paid $3 million in member credits to members who received service from PVREA for the years 1993, 2003, 2004, and 2017 or any combination of those years. In September, current and previous members during the years mentioned above, and who had built up to at least $10 worth of member credits, received their credits either on their September bill as a credit or received a check in the mail if the credit amount was over $100.
In previous years, the co-op issued member credits by mailing checks. This year, the co-op is paid member credits under $100 as bill credits to save the co-op on printing, postage and administrative costs. This is just one of the ways the co-op is working to control costs and save money to keep rates affordable – which is one of the ways PVREA is able to hold the line on rates and not have any rate increases in 2019!
Allocation vs. Retirement
Allocation. Every spring, the Board of Directors looks at the prior year and allots any funds remaining after all expenses are paid into a budget item called patronage capital. This designated pool of money is then “allocated” to members, based on the prior year’s electric consumption. In this case, the more power you use, the larger your allocation. The allocation is not a check, but a bookkeeping of the amount of money you have invested in the Co-op’s electric system based on your electric consumption. This allocation amount is notified to members on bills every year.
Retirement. Every year the Board takes a hard look at the operation, and decides if a member credit payout or "retirement" is feasible. If they decide to retire member credits, the money is paid out or “retired” from each member’s account, based on their past allocations. The credits members receive are tangible evidence of each member’s investment into the co-op.
For any tax questions regarding your member credits, please refer to your tax advisor.
Member Credits FAQs
At the end of each year, after all of the cooperative’s bills have been paid and all expenses considered, the amount of money that is left over is called a margin. Margins provide equity for the cooperative and are allocated to the members in proportion to their purchases of electricity during the year. Member credits, otherwise known as capital credits, are your share of the margin. Member credits are allocated annually to each member and are retired in accord with the cooperative’s bylaws.
If you have questions regarding your member credits, please contact our Member Services Department at 1-800-432-1012 or to find out more about member credits or PVREA, click here to contact us.
To search our most recent list of unclaimed member credits, click here.
You will still receive your member credit checks from previous years of membership with PVREA. When you close your account with us, we ask for your forwarding address so we can mail your member credit retirement checks to your new address.
Our co-op uses these funds as working capital to maintain the existing distribution system and to build new infrastructure without having to borrow any money to do so. This is why we allocate funds, and in later years pay out the member credit funds back to you. It's part of your economic participation in the co-op.
Call the co-op at 1-800-432-1012 and we will be able to help you out.
Every spring, after the previous year's accounting is finalized, any funds remaining after all expenses are paid (margins) are allocated to members that purchased power in the previous year. These funds are called patronage capital and are later paid out as member credits. Members are typically notified of their allocation on their bills in the spring.
PVREA uses these funds as working capital to maintain the existing distribution system and to build new infrastructure without having to borrow any money to do so.
Every year the co-op takes a hard look at our financial situation and determines how much the cooperative can retire, or pay out, in member credits. The credits members receive either by check or a bill credit, typically in September, are tangible evidence of each member's investment into the cooperative.
We are required by our lending institutions to meet certain financial requirements to show that the cooperative is financially stable. However, all margins are allocated back to our membership, and later paid out as member credits.
We suggest that you seek the advice of a tax professional for any specific questions regarding taxation.
Every spring, after the previous year's accounting is finalized, any funds remaining after all expenses are paid (margins) are allocated to members that purchased power in the previous year. These funds are called patronage capital, and are based on prior year's electric use - the more electricity you use, the larger your allocation. Your allocations build up over the years, and are later paid out as member credits.