REYNOLDS/WARNER ROBINS/UPATOI/PERRY – Flint Energies is attempting to find missing members who are owed capital credits refunds. According to Sr. Vice President Jimmy Autry, unclaimed capital credits from our latest capital credits retirement have been uploaded to www.flintenergies.com.
“Flint Energies is seeking to find members who have unclaimed capital credits on file with our not-for-profit cooperative,” said Autry. “We would like to find a current address and refund these capital credits if possible. Members with capital credits that have not yet been claimed from the 2010 retirement have until Sept. 15, 2016 to claim these funds.”
After that time, these capital credits will be donated as permitted in Georgia law (O.C.G.A. 44-12-236).
“If your name is on the list, or if you have accurate addresses for anyone on the list, please contact Flint during regular business hours at 800-342-3616 ext. 5203,” Autry added.
To view the listing of individuals who have unclaimed capital credits that will be presumed abandoned after Sept. 15, 2016, please visit www.flintenergies.com (Select My Cooperative, Non-profit Cooperative and Unclaimed Capital Credits) or directly.
WHAT ARE CAPITAL CREDITS?
Capital credits are the retained margins left over at the end of the year at a not for profit electric cooperative. Capital credits are the most significant source of equity for most cooperatives. Capital credits are somewhat similar to the dividends that investor-owned utilities pay to their shareholders.
The difference is that the Cooperative’s “shareholders” are also the people that it serves and the “dividends” (capital credits) are distributed to those member/consumers. Capital credits reflect each member’s ownership in the cooperative. It is also called patronage capital or equity capital.
HOW ARE THEY PAID?
Member-owned, not-for-profit electric utilities set their rates to bring in enough money to pay operating costs, make payments on any loans and provide an emergency reserve. At the end of each calendar year, we subtract operating expenses from the total amount of money collected during the year and this balance is the called “margin.”
HOW ARE YEAR-END MARGINS ALLOCATED?
These margins are allocated to member-consumers as capital credits based on their purchases from the cooperative. Member purchases may also be called patronage.
HOW OFTEN DO MEMBERS RECEIVE CAPITAL CREDITS?
The board of directors makes a decision each year whether or not to refund capital credits. When the cooperative is strong enough financially and the member equity level is high enough, the Board directs the staff to refund some portion of past year’s capital credits.
WHAT IS A MEMBER?
Any individual or entity that uses electricity from the cooperative. They are entitled to participate in cooperative elections and vote and to share in patronage capital allocations.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO RETIRE CAPITAL CREDITS?
To pay capital credits to members either through cash or credit. It’s also called revolving, rotating or redeeming capital credits.
About Flint Energies www.flintenergies.com
Incorporated in 1937, Flint Energies is a not-for-profit member-owned electric cooperative that provides energy services to residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural members in parts of 17 central Georgia counties. Flint has 240 employees and serves more than 88,200 meters. Flint's physical plant consists of more than 6,680 miles of distribution line and 50 substations located within Bibb, Chattahoochee, Crawford, Dooly, Harris, Houston, Macon, Marion, Monroe, Muscogee, Peach, Schley, Sumter, Taylor, Talbot, Twiggs and Upson Counties. The system also includes the Museum of Aviation at Robins Air Force Base and the Fort Benning military post. Flint is the eighth largest of Georgia's 41 EMCs and the 37th largest of the nation's nearly 1,000 rural electric cooperatives.
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