SAN ISABEL ELECTRIC ASSOCIATION
Paris Daugherty, Comm Manager
San Isabel Electric Assocation
$3 million returned to schools, businesses, and residents in the past 3 years More than $1.4 million dollars in capital credits were retired by the San Isabel Electric Board of Directors at their August meeting.
Checks were mailed to Members on Thursday, September 8th.
Checks range from $10 to hundreds of dollars for residents, school districts, businesses, and a few larger businesses and government agencies receiving several thousand dollars.
“As an underfunded school district, the $12,591 credit from San Isabel Electric is just one more example of how Pueblo County School District 70 benefits from being members of this efficient and reliable organization. We will put that money to good use in our mission to educate the children of Pueblo County,” District 70 Superintendent Ed Smith said.
“The practice of allocating and retiring capital credits is the most fundamental way we demonstrate the not-forprofit cooperative business model to our membership,” San Isabel Electric General Manager Ryan Elarton said.
In 2021, San Isabel Electric refunded $982,000 and in 2020, the co-op refunded another $620,000 in capital credits. Combined with 2022’s roughly $1,473,000 refund, that’s more than $3 million in capital credits returned to the membership in the past three years.
Most utilities pocket left over money as profit when revenues are more than expenses. San Isabel Electric sets aside that profit for member-owners as a capital credit, based on the amount of energy each member purchases. When it’s financially safe to do so, the Board of Directors retires (returns) the capital credits to members. Members receive their share as a check right in their mailbox.
This year, members from 1978-1983, 1991, and 2021 received capital credits checks in the mail, reflecting all or part of their ownership of the cooperative during those years.
Members are encouraged to leave forwarding addresses with San Isabel Electric should they move off the system. In the case of a member’s death, a representative of the estate should contact San Isabel Electric to determine the status of the member’s capital credit checks, both now and in the future.
San Isabel Electric attempts to notify members whose checks have not been cashed by listing their names in a notice of unclaimed capital credits. The list is published April 1 each year in Colorado Country Life and on the co-op’s website.
If the capital credit is not claimed within three years of when the name is first published, the Board of Directors returns the money to the communities we serve in the form of community donations, sponsorships, and scholarships.
For more information about San Isabel Electric’s capital credit program, visit siea.com/capitalcredits.