FAQ
What are Capital Credits?
A cooperative does not earn profits in the sense that other businesses do. Instead, any margins, or revenues remaining after all expenses have been paid, are returned as capital credits, to the members in proportion to their patronage during each year.
Capital credits represent each member’s share of OCEC’s equity.
What do cooperatives do with capital credits?
Every business needs to maintain a suitable balance debt to equity to ensure its financial health and stability.
Capital credits are the most significant source of equity for most electric cooperatives. Equity is used to help meet the
expenses of the co-op, such as paying for new equipment to serve members and repaying debt. Capital credits help keep rates at a
competitive level by reducing the amount of funds that must be borrowed.
How does the cooperative determine who receives capital credits?
Capital credits are allocated to each member of the cooperative every year based on patronage in the cooperative.
What is the Revolving Loan Fund?
Okanogan County Electric Cooperative (OCEC) administers a USDA Revolving Loan (RLF) grant for economic development in the
Methow Valley. As these funds are loaned and paid back OCEC is able to loan the funds out over and over again. Currently OCEC
is looking for projects in our community to loan zero interest money to. The maximum loan period is for 10 years with a 1%
administrative fee.
The type of projects that would be eligible include municipal community development and service projects, non-profit business
incubators, medical services, education and training to enhance economic opportunities for rural residents, advanced
telecommunications, land and building acquisition, land and environmental improvements, new building construction, building
renovation, machinery and equipment, community infrastructure and facilities, business startup or expansion, civic and other
types of projects approved by the Okanogan County Electric Cooperative board of directors which are compatible with the
stated Revolving Loan Fund objectives. OCEC reviews the funds available for relending annually. Notice is posted in the
Methow Valley News and our newsletter when funds are available.
What is a Co-op?
Electric cooperatives are private, not-for-profit businesses governed by their consumers (known as consumer-members). Two
federal requirements for all co-ops, including electric co-ops, are democratic governance and operation at cost. Specifically,
every consumer-member can vote to choose local boards that oversee the co-op, and the co-op must, with few exceptions,
return to consumer-members revenue above what is needed for operation. Under this structure, electric co-ops provide
economic benefits to their local communities rather than distant stockholders.
The majority of co-ops distribute electricity to consumers through low-voltage residential lines that cover more than 75
percent of the nation’s land mass. Many of these distribution co-ops, as they’re called, have joined to create co-ops that
provide them with generation and transmission services. Distribution co-ops also buy power from investor-owned
utilities, public power systems, federal hydropower power marketing administrations and the Tennessee Valley Authority.
What is the right of way & tree trimming guidelines?
On all new services, the member will be responsible to clear the initial right of way based on Okanogan County Electric
Co-op’s specifications. The OCEC Engineering department will be in contact with the member to discuss the required
specifications and to show member what trees/brush need to be trimmed or removed. OCEC crews will do all clearing within the
State and County right of way and the member will be invoiced for this service. Members will not be put on the construction
schedule until the right of way has been cleared and approved by the Engineering department. After construction is complete OCEC
will handle all future right of way clearing/trimming.
*Please do not plant trees under – or near – the power lines.*
Please contact the OCEC Engineering department at (509) 996-2228 if you have questions.