BLUEBONNET MEMBERS TO GET BACK $3.76 MILLION IN CAPITAL CREDITS STARTING IN MAY
Members of Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative will soon receive a credit for their share of nearly $4 million of capital credits.
Bluebonnet’s Board of Directors unanimously voted during its April meeting to return $3.76 million to its members. The money, called capital credits, is similar to dividends that for-profit companies pay investors, except capital credits are returned specifically to the member-owners of the coop.
Capital credits are excess revenue above what it takes to run the coop. The amount each member gets back depends on how much electricity they used in previous years, and how long they’ve been a Bluebonnet member. Current members will receive a credit on their May electric bill, while former members still owed a capital credit will get a check in May or June.
Bluebonnet celebrates its 80th anniversary this year, and pays capital credits every year. Over the last ten years, Bluebonnet has returned $43.36 million to its members.
Bluebonnet Board Chairman Ben Flencher said “it’s a testament to the hard work and exceptional effort from everyone at Bluebonnet” that it is able to return millions of dollars each year to members. He said members see the result each May when they get their capital credits on their electric bills.
Bluebonnet General Manager Matt Bentke said this achievement is made notable by the fact the cooperative is able to do this while reinvesting into the electric grid, continuing to volunteer in the local communities, and “becoming even stronger organizationally and financially”.