Cooperatives are distinctly different from investor-owned utilities because cooperatives are owned by their customers, and these members vote for men and women who sit on the Board of Directors.
Capital Credits are the member’s share of the cooperative’s operating margins. Margins—revenue minus expenses—are called profits in the for-profit world.
Your 2025 Capital Credit allocation was added to your total Capital Credit balance. The balance in your Capital Credit account is the sum of your allocations earned to date, minus your refunds issued to date. This is not your refund. Refunds are a percentage of this balance and are paid out separately.
At the close of 2025, SMECO’s margins for allocation totaled $22,751,015. Each member who had an active electric account in 2025 will have a portion of the margins allocated to his or her Capital Credit account. The member’s share is based on how much electricity the member purchased and the rate at which an electric account was billed.
The steps printed below were used to compute SMECO’s 2025 Capital allocation to each member’s Capital Credit account, based on the member’s 2025 monthly electric bills.
Calculating This Year’s Allocation
- Step 1 – From each of your 2025 monthly electric bills, add the following charges (if applicable on your account):
- Facilities Charge
- Distribution Charges
- Distribution Demand
- Brackets, Poles, & Metal Shades
- Primary Metering Discount Distribution
- Contracted Service Charge
- Bill Stabilization Adjustment
- Net Excess Generation Credit
- Step 2 – Add together the totals from each month’s bill obtained in Step 1 to find the total for the year.
- Step 3 – Multiply this total by 0.112490. This will give you the Capital Credits allocated to your account this year. Remember, this is the allocation, not the amount that you will be refunded.
For More Information
If you have any questions concerning your SMECO Capital Credits, call toll-free, 1-888-440-3311, to speak with a Customer Care representative, or send an email.