Kauai Island Utility Cooperative will begin issuing $3.2 million in 2017 patronage capital retirement checks to cooperative members next week.

Patronage capital is money that the cooperative has left over after paying all of its expenses and meeting its lenders’ expectations for financial stability. At the end of the year, money is credited to each member’s patronage capital account according to the amount the member paid for electricity. This is the member’s equity in KIUC.

“We had excellent financial results in 2017, which allows us to exercise one of the fundamental benefits of being a not-for-profit cooperative that is owned by the members it serves,” KIUC Chairman Allan Smith said. “A rural electric cooperative exists solely to provide its members with electricity. In a co-op, margins don’t belong to the company; they belong to the individual members who paid money on their monthly bills.”

The amount of each individual member’s retirement is based on energy use. This year the average amount to be returned is about $44, based on use of roughly 500 kilowatt- hours per month.

Members with active accounts with a refund of $25 or more will receive a check. If the amount is less than $25, their electrical account will be credited. Members with inactive accounts with a refund amount of $10 or more will receive a check. If the amount is less than $10, it will remain in the member’s patronage account until the cumulative amount reaches $10 or more, after which a check will be sent.

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