Clay Electric Cooperative’s Board of Trustees has declared a $12 million Capital Credits refund for members who received service from 1993 through 2021.

Capital Credits reflect the cooperative’s not-for-profit and member-owned status and represent each member’s pro-rata share of any margins left over at the end of the year after all expenses are paid. Capital Credits are a unique benefit of being served by an electric cooperative. Investor-owned electric utilities send their margins (profits) to stockholders, and municipally-owned utilities return their profits to city coffers for use in road-paving or similar projects.

Before Clay Electric’s board of trustees decided whether a refund could be made, it carefully considered a variety of data and economic conditions. Following this review, the board decided it was prudent to refund $12 million to entitled members and former members. This year’s refund will be the 49th consecutive time that the cooperative has refunded Capital Credits.

Current members of the co-op who are entitled to a refund will receive a credit on their March bills. Multiple accounts with the same member number will receive a credit on the account associated with the membership.

About 146,000 Capital Credits bill credits are scheduled for this year.

For those entitled to a refund but who no longer receive service from Clay, a refund check will be mailed around March 23. The co-op is scheduled to mail around 54,300 refund checks to this group. The minimum amount to be refunded by check in most cases is $10 and the identifying customer number on the check should be preceded by three zeros (for example, CC#0001571429).

Former members of the cooperative who receive a refund check should cash their check within 90 days. If the check is not cashed and remains unclaimed after 90 days, a $1 maintenance fee will be assessed each month against the Capital Credits refund.

There could be former memberships whose joint relationship may not print on the check. If a former member is unable to deposit or cash the check because of the missing name, they should call the co-op at 1-800-224-4917 to have the check reissued.

If a member of the cooperative has any questions about Capital Credits, they should contact their district office.

Former Members

If you think you may have unclaimed Capital Credits, you can check here (https://www.clayelectric.com/capital-credits-lookup). You will need to provide either the last name the account was in and the last four digits of the social security number; the account number; or the location information.