Ever wonder who owns your power company? If you get electricity from Hancock-Wood Electric Cooperative, the answer’s easy — look in the mirror. That’s why our board has approved returning  $3.1 million to members this year. Members will see their capital credit return as a bill credit on their December bills.

We’re not for profit, so any funds left over after bills have been paid, infrastructure built, and an emergency fund established go into capital credits accounts for each co-op member. Then, when your board of directors determines the co-op is in good financial shape, this capital is returned to you as a check or bill credit. How much money you get back depends on how much electricity you used. Capital credit refunds are to you what dividends are to stockholders at for-profit companies. Only we don’t aim to make a profit. Our goal is to provide you with electricity at a price that is as close to cost as possible. That way, more money stays in your pocket — up front.

Of course, being an owner doesn’t mean you can drive to a substation and take home a transformer or borrow a spool of wire. Those assets are owned collectively by everyone who has signed up for electric service. A portion of the electric bill you pay each month goes into building the distribution infrastructure — poles, wires, and substations — that brings you a steady supply of power. Cooperatives follow a unique consumer-focused business model led by a set of seven principles.

The third cooperative principle, “Members’ Economic Participation,” requires all of us to chip in a bit on our monthly bill to keep Hancock-Wood in good shape. Your cooperative conducts business locally. Investments we make in infrastructure don’t profit someone in an area far away; benefits stay right here in our community.

Paying your monthly bill does more than build lines, buy equipment, and purchase wholesale electricity. You also pay the salaries of our hard-working employees, who live right here in the community. They, in turn, buy goods at local businesses, spreading income around and boosting our local economy. In short, you are receiving a vital resource, electricity, from a business owned and operated by you, your friends, and your neighbors. Working together, we provide you with the highest level of service we can while striving to keep your electric bills affordable.

And that’s the cooperative difference.