In May, the Board of Directors of East-Central Iowa Rural Electric Cooperative voted to retire $565,413 in patronage back to its members. These margins—100% ($465,413) of its 2005 margins and 11.75% ($100,000) of its 2016 margins—were credited to current members on their June bills. Former members were sent checks. The 90-day window to cash these checks has now passed, and there are several people who have not yet cashed their checks. These dividends will be forfeited to the Cooperative if not claimed within one (1) year.
If you know of someone listed, please contact that person, or their next of kin, and ask them to contact our office. ECI REC will require personal identification and/or legal documentation from these people to confirm their membership before dividends can be claimed. Please do not contact ECI REC unless you have the necessary documentation for the member listed. This list was current at the time of this posting.
Patronage represents the margins, or profits, that the Cooperative earns on electricity purchased by its member-accounts. These margins are the member-accounts’ equity in East-Central Iowa REC. The Cooperative uses this equity to maintain its poles and wires, rebuild its distribution system, and pay expenses. When ECI REC’s financial condition allows, these margins are returned back to the members who generated them. In the past 10 years, ECI REC has returned $5,569,475 to its members.