Members can call the office at their convenience to inquire about unclaimed capital credits.
Your REMC cooperative does not calculate profits in the way other businesses do, including those businesses such as investor-owned and municipal utilities. Instead, any “margins” or revenue which may remain after all expenses have been paid are “allocated” to the members in proportion to the amount of business that they conduct with the co-op for the year via capital credit allocations. Therefore, capital credits represent each member’s share of the cooperative’s margins and the amount of investment in the co-op. Once a capital credit is allocated – it remains on the REMC’s financial books until such time as there is sufficient cash to distribute or pay them out. This distribution activity is then referred to as a “retired” capital credit and once retired – the capital credit then comes off of the co-op’s books. This cycle, from allocation to retirement, is on an approximately 30 year rotation.
Allocated capital credits appear as an entry on the permanent financial records of the co-op and reflect your equity or investment in Daviess-Martin County REMC. When capital credits are retired, either a check, bill credit or other form of payment is issued and your equity in the co-op is reduced.
Capital credits are calculated by Daviess-Martin County REMC for everyone who purchases electricity during a year in which the utility earned margins. No special action is required to start a capital credits account and unless there is some other special arrangement, a general membership with Daviess-Martin County REMC creates the ability for a member to build capital credits.
The percentage of the total margin that is allocated as capital credits varies from year to year, and are only allocated for the year in which Daviess-Martin County REMC earns margins. Therefore, no credits are allocated in a year where there are no margins.
The amount of capital credits you earn in a given year is based upon calculation which takes into consideration the amount of capital which the member has contributed to the co-op through payment of their monthly bills. The more electric service you buy, the greater your potential percentage of capital credits will be for the period.
An example is if the REMC collected $100.00 for the year and you as a member paid $1.00, you would have paid 1% of the total revenue for the year. If the REMC ends up with $10.00 of margins at the end of the year, you would have allocated 1% or 0.10 cents worth of capital credits.
No. Capital credits are calculated based upon members’ monthly bills for whatever period they do business with the REMC. If a member is billed for electricity for even one month, they will accumulate some capital credits, if Daviess-Martin County REMC earned margins in that year.
According to REMC By-laws, all accounts are JOINT accounts, therefore if an account is in two names – both names will be listed on a check.
The REMC cannot remove either of the names. It will be up to the individuals listed on the check to determine how to cash the check and split the money.
The owner of the capital credit account is the person listed on the first line of the account. If you believe you should have received the check it will be between the individual listed on the first line of address and the individual listed as “C/O” or in “Care Of” to decide if and how to cash the check.
If one of the individuals listed on the check is deceased, the REMC will need a copy of the death certificate and a request to change the account made by the living individual before the deceased name can be removed and a new check issued.
If the member named on the account is deceased, an authorized heir may claim the amount.
Simply complete this REQUEST FOR RETIREMENT OF CAPITAL CREDITS FORM and return it to our office. If an estate is still active, the executor may complete the paperwork.
It is not legal to issue a check in the name of a person or persons that is deceased so your help in updating our records is appreciated. Please note that there is a time limit of 2-years in which to claim a capital credit once the REMC has allocated and made an attempt to retire. After the 2-years all such allocations will be treated as donated cash.
The REMC tries to keep track of former members however, sometimes members fail to let us know how to stay in contact with them. Former members should complete the FORMER MEMBER VERIFICATION FORM before the REMC can process their payment.
Capital credits allocations remain on the books in an eligible member’s name and member number until they are either retired or donated. If a member moves or no longer has electric service with Daviess-Martin County REMC, the member should keep their current address on file with the cooperative, so that future disbursements can be processed and forwarded to them.
Not necessarily. Each year the Board of Directors will review the amount of margins (if any), and if a margin exists – will decide on the capital credit allocations, period and method of disbursement and will authorize a total retirement amount. Depending upon the status of the member and the amount of disbursement that a member may receive will determine if a retirement is made in the form of a check, bill credit or some other form. When considering a retirement, the Board analyzes the financial health of the cooperative and will not authorize a retirement if it should impair the cooperative’s overall financial condition.
To claim credits for yourself or your organization, download the Capital Credits Claim Verification form and return it to the Daviess-Martin County REMC office along with other required documents listed on the form.
To claim credits for deceased members, download the Request for Retirement of Capital Credits Form and return it to the Daviess-Martin County REMC office along with other required documents listed on the checklist.
