Benefits of Being a Member

As a member of New-Mac Electric Cooperative, you share in the cooperative's success through capital credits.

Unlike investor-owned utilities, New-Mac operates as a not-for-profit cooperative. When revenues exceed operating expenses, the remaining margins are allocated to members as capital credits based on the amount of electricity each member purchased during the year.

These funds help support the cooperative's operations, maintain reliable service, and provide financial stability. As the cooperative's financial condition allows, capital credits are returned to members according to board approved retirement schedules and cooperative bylaws.

Each year, members receive a statement showing their allocated capital credits. To ensure future payments reach you, please notify New-Mac of any address changes, even if you no longer receive electric service from the cooperative.

For 28 consecutive years, New-Mac has returned capital credits to its members, reinforcing one of the many advantages of cooperative membership.

Click here to see current list of unclaimed properties. 

Paid to Co-op Members

Each year, New-Mac Electric Cooperative’s Board of Directors allocates margins to members based on the amount of electricity they purchased. Those capital credits are assigned to your account, but they are not necessarily paid out right away. When the financial condition of the cooperative allows, the New-Mac Board of Directors approves the retirement of a certain percentage of capital credits.

In the past, New-Mac primarily used a First In, First Out approach, meaning the retirement came from the oldest capital credit allocations first.

A couple years ago, New-Mac adopted a combination of First In, First Out and Last In, First Out. That means a portion of the retirement can come from older allocations and a portion from more recent allocations. The benefit is simple: more members have an opportunity to receive a capital credit check.

Last year, over 95% of New-Mac members received a capital credit check. So even if you have not been a New-Mac member for decades, you may still receive a retirement from your more recent capital credit allocations.

Allocated means capital credits have been assigned to your account.

Retired means New-Mac is returning an approved portion of those capital credits to you.

Please call the co-op between 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Monday-Friday, at (417) 451-1515 to inquire about your capital credits.

FAQ

What are capital credits and why do I receive them as a Co-op member?

As a not-for-profit electric utility, after covering the cost of yearly operations, New-Mac allocates any money left over and above those costs back to our members, who own the Cooperative.

As a Co-op member, you are an owner and share in the margins of your cooperative.

The longer you use the service, the more monetary equity you accumulate. We call this equity allocations, which is the total sum of patronage accrued by the member during their prior year or years of service with New-Mac. Allocations are similar to, but not the same as, dividends earned by shareholders of an investor-owned company. The actual total cash amount is determined by the cooperative Board of Directors. The retirement each member receives is usually a percentage of the total allocation amount from a previous year or years of service.

Who is eligible to receive a capital credit retirement?

If you are currently a member or were formerly a member of New-Mac Electric Cooperative, you are entitled to receive a capital credit retirement as part of your membership agreement. For that reason, it’s important that everyone involved with the membership have their name on the account and that your address, if you move out of the area, is kept current at New-Mac.

Why does the Co-op hold capital credit allocations?

New-Mac holds allocations for the following reasons:

• to maintain adequate cash flow to meet current expenses
• to preserve enough equity in the cooperative to meet lenders’ debt-to-equity requirements and lower the Co-op cost of borrowing money
• to reinvest millions of dollars in system improvements, new services, and the capital budget

Because all members and former members are eligible to receive capital credits, it is necessary to properly budget for this expense. Each year, the Co-op Board of Directors approves a percentage of prior years’ allocations for repayment to the membership. By paying out a portion at a time, the Co-op can maintain a stable financial structure.

How much does New-Mac pay out to members?

Each year, capital credits are determined by the Board of Directors dependent on the financial stability of the Cooperative.

If I move out of NMEC’s service area, what can I do to ensure I receive my capital credits?

If you are currently a member and have plans to move out of the New-Mac service area, make sure we have your forwarding address. Making sure we always have your current address will allow us to send you checks for all future retirements.

What if I had a joint account and am now divorced or separated? Do I still receive retirements?

If you previously had a joint account with another person through marriage or other living arrangements, you are entitled to make a claim. The first party to make the claim will receive the retirement. That person is then responsible for dividing that amount to the other person(s) listed on the check. New-Mac will not be held responsible or liable for difficulties resulting from the failure of one party to notify the other.

How may I check to see if I have unclaimed capital credits?

New-Mac publishes a list of unclaimed capital credit retirements annually on the NMEC website.

If you think you may have unclaimed capital credits with New-Mac or have questions, please call our office at (417) 451-1515 during regular business hours.