As a cooperative, Frontier Power returns surplus funds to its members. If you receive power from Frontier Power, you are also a member-owner of the cooperative. The cooperative’s electric rates must cover the cost of not only power, but building and maintaining existing lines, loans, and other costs associated with distributing power and continuing service. Because of this, the cooperative must sustain minimal margins each year to reinvest into the system for operational expenses.
Once a year, all profits are processed and you are notified by a message on your bill how much has been allocated to your patronage account for that year. Only a percentage of this allocated amount can actually be credited to you each July. This credit is applied against your bill if you are a current consumer, or a check is mailed to you if you no longer live on the Frontier Power system. This credit given to you in July is called “General Retirement”. All eligible accounts will have monies retired on their account. Frontier Power has been retiring monies on the oldest year still on file that has not had General Retirement and also a percentage of the most recent year on file. The remaining monies that have been allocated to your patronage account are what Frontier Power must use to continue operations and maintain a safe and reliable electrical system. The percentage maintained is determined by our board of trustees each year.
The only time capital patronage accounts are paid in full is upon the death of the member. At that time, the person representing the estate would need to contact our office, complete an application and provide a copy of the death certificate to the cooperative. Upon the proper completion and board approval, the balance of the capital credit account would be paid.
If you have any questions or would like additional information about capital credits, please give our office a call at 740-622-6755 or 800-624-8050.