What is patronage capital or capital credits?
One of the major benefits of being a cooperative member is the receipt of patronage capital . It is like your power company is paying you its profits.

Here's how it works: money left over after HWE's bills are paid each year is known as margins (it is the margin between income and expenses). This money is used for capital expenditures, such as building or replacing lines, and is not paid back immediately. This becomes your investment or equity in the company. In a for-profit company, this money would be called profit. To be a true nonprofit cooperative, we believe this money should be returned to you -- we call it patronage capital (or sometimes called capital credits).

We keep track of your patronage capital in a special account. You receive a notice each year telling how much money from the previous calendar year's margins was allocated to your account. This is money HWE will eventually refund to you or your estate. The amount of patronage capital allocated to your account is in proportion to the dollar amount of electricity you used. In other words, if you paid for 1 percent of the power we sold, you would receive a 1 percent share of the margins left over at the end of the year.  If a member passes away, we pay all patronage due to the estate.

When will I get my patronage capital?
Usually in December we issue a patronage capital.  If you are a current or past member who is owed patronage, you'll receive this refund.