During fiscal year 2020, Tideland Electric Membership Corporation retired approximately $1.078 million in capital credits. Retirements to the estates of deceased members of the electric cooperative are projected to total $478,000. Tideland’s board of directors further authorized a general retirement of $600,000 to those members and former members of the cooperative that received electric service in 1990 or 1991.

Capital credits represent member margins that are collected through electric bill revenues and reinvested in the cooperative’s utility infrastructure. At the end of each year, Tideland’s expenses are deducted from revenue to determine the cooperative’s net operating margins for the year. Those margins are proportionally assigned to each Tideland EMC member as capital credits based on a percentage of what each member paid for electricity during the calendar year. By utilizing member capital to maintain the electric system, Tideland is able to minimize its reliance on outside lenders thus reducing borrowing costs for the entire membership.

The general retirement was issued through a combination of checks and electric bill credits during the month of December.

Active account holders received a check if their electric account was current at the time of distribution and if their refund was $50 or more. All other Tideland members with active accounts received an on-bill credit if they had service with the co-op in either 1990 or 1991. Checks were mailed to former members at their last known address for refunds of $50 or more. That’s in part why it is important to keep the co-op updated about future address changes in the event you leave the Tideland service area. Undelivered or unclaimed refunds are eventually escheated to the North Carolina Department of Treasury.