At its May Board meeting, the ECI REC Board of Directors approved the retirement of $568,048—100% ($468,048) of its 2004 margins and 10.77% ($100,000) of 2015 margins—to members of the Cooperative. This month, 5,969 member-accounts that received electricity from East-Central Iowa REC in 2004 or 2015 should receive money back. These dollars represent your share of the deferred patronage dividends (profits) the Cooperative earned in 2004 and 2015. In the past 10 years, ECI REC has returned $5,504,061 to its membership.

Eighty-four and a half percent (84.5%) of the 7,065 memberships receiving money back are active member-accounts currently receiving electricity from ECI REC. These active member-accounts will see a credit on their June bills. The remaining member-accounts that are no longer active (not currently receiving electricity from ECI REC) will receive their credits in the form of a check that will be placed into the mail. If you do not receive a credit on your June bill, you did not receive electric service from ECI REC in 2004 or 2015. Email the Urbana office at csr@ecirec.coop or call 877-850-4343 if you have any questions.

Since ECI REC is a nonprofit organization, members pay for their electricity at cost, and any margins left over at the end of the year after all expenses are covered are allocated in the form of patronage dividends. These margins include operating margins, which are generated directly by the sale of electricity to you. They also include non-operating margins, which consist of interest from our investment of spare cash and patronage dividend allocations. ECI REC receives these allocations through memberships with other cooperatives, which we purchase goods and services from.

As owners of the Cooperative, members provide equity by allowing ECI REC to hold on to these margins for a certain length of time. They are used to finance operations and system improvements, to cover the cost of maintaining the electric distribution system, and more.