How is NORA Electric Cooperative different from investor owned utilities?

As mentioned above, NORA is a not-for-profit cooperative organization which means that all margins (profits) accrue to the benefit of the members/owners served, not stockholders. Additionally, NORA's administrative and managerial control is determined by a Board of Trustees; the members geographically elect Trustees from their own, to determine the methods of operations. All Trustees are expected to support the Cooperative as a whole. Q: I sometimes receive a check from NORA Electric Cooperative entitled "Capital Credit Refund". What does this check represent, how is the amount determined and may I expect to receive additional checks in the future? A: A "Capital Credit Refund" is an action taken by the Board of Trustees to retire patronage capital that was allocated to consumers since the beginning of the Cooperative. The Trustees determine annually how much can be retired, and for what years. If at the end of a year, there are more revenues than expenses, the additional revenue is ...  more