Refunding patronage capital

Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative will refund capital credits next week to its members.  On Thursday, April 14 Blue Ridge will send $1 million dollars worth of credits reflecting margins earned by Blue Ridge in previous years. Each check includes that member’s pro-rata share of the net earnings during the years covered by the payment. In each of the last 34 years, Blue Ridge has returned capital credits to its members.  Since the cooperative’s founding, more than $24 million has been forwarded to recipients. According to Blue Ridge President and CEO Charles Dalton, refunding patronage capital is a key element of the cooperative business model.  “As a member-owned organization, we believe it’s good business practice to employ regular rotations of capital credits.  These payments represent the return of a portion of the investment members have made in the cooperative through their purchases of electricity.  We take pride in fulfilling this responsibility.” Blue Ridge supplies electric service to more than 64,500 households, businesses, and institutions within an 1,800-square-mile territory that includes portions of five upstate South Carolina counties.