Capital Credits

Because GVEA is a cooperative, owned by its members, it doesn’t technically earn profits. Instead, if revenues exceed the cost of doing business (i.e. expenses), the co-op has earned “margins.” Each year that margins are earned, GVEA members are allocated a portion of the margins, which are in proportion to the amount of electricity each member purchased during that year. These portions are called capital credits.

The 2 most common reasons are:

• The account was only in a roommate’s or a former spouse’s name; refunds are issued to the individual whose name(s) is on the account for that particular year’s refund.
• You lived in the core of downtown Fairbanks, which was still served by the City of Fairbanks until 1997

If neither of these scenarios applied to you, contact us, and we’ll research it.

Yes, Capital credit refunds will be issued, provided we have an accurate mailing address on file.

Think of the capital credits allocation like a savings bond. Similar to how a savings bond is a loan to the U.S. Department of Treasury to help reduce our government’s borrowing needs, GVEA capital credits help reduce our co-op’s borrowing needs for such projects as building a substation or replacing power poles or lines. And just like how a savings bond matures after a period of time, capital credits are retired and refunded to you after a period of 25 years.

Capital credit refunds are typically issued or “retired” by the Board of Directors 25 years after they are allocated.

Allocated capital credits are the amounts assigned to each member who was billed for service during a year in which margins were earned. While the credits are assigned to members, they are retained by the co-op for a period of time – 25 years – and are used as capital, which reduces GVEA’s need to borrow money. Allocated capital credits reflect your ownership in GVEA. When capital credits are eventually retired, GVEA will then issue refunds.

In a year when GVEA earns margins, the amount of capital credits that are allocated to you is based on the total amount you were billed for electricity during that year. The more electricity you purchase, the greater your capital credits allocation. The sum of your monthly bills for a year is multiplied by a percentage to determine your capital credits allocation. That percentage varies from year to year, depending on the amount of margins earned in a given year. GVEA issues an allocation letter each year to our members notifying them of their portion of the prior year’s margins.

Members with multiple accounts (for different locations) will receive a separate capital credits allocation notice for each account. However, if there are more than 6 accounts under one membership name, the member will receive 1 notice with an attachment listing the accounts and amounts.

For residential electric accounts, capital credits are generally not taxable. For businesses (which includes rentals), according to Internal Revenue Service guidelines, members receiving capital credits checks in excess of $600 are required to complete the IRS W-9 Form (PDF). We suggest seeking the advice of a tax professional for specific questions.

No. Allocated capital credits may not be used to pay current bills. Your electric bill is due now, whereas your capital credits allocation may not be retired for many years.

The amount of your capital credit refund will be reduced by any unpaid bills you may have with GVEA for disconnected accounts.

No. Capital credits are calculated based on a member’s total bills during the year. If you are billed for service for even 1 month and GVEA earns margins for that year, you will have accumulated some capital credits.

Active members should receive an allocation notice annually.

The capital credit refunds allocated to a deceased member may be issued without waiting for a general retirement. However, these estate payments are not automatic. A representative of the estate must provide proof that the person requesting the refund has been appointed by a court, executor or administrator of the estate (e.g. the Letters Testamentary or Statement Appointing Personal Representative), along with a copy of the death certificate. A refund check will be issued to the estate. The refunded amount will be reduced to reflect the early retirement of the capital credits.

The refund or “retirement” of capital credits is not automatic. The GVEA Board of Directors must specifically authorize the retirement of capital credits after considering the financial impact on the co-op. Capital credits earned through 1992, plus 25% of 2016, are among the latest capital credits retired in December 2017. Active members whose refunds were $100 or less received a credit on their bill. Checks were mailed to active and non-active members who had refunds greater than $100. For non-active members, however, checks are not issued for less than $25, or for five years, whichever occurs first. It’s strongly recommended that non-active members keep a current mailing address on file with GVEA.

If you terminate your membership, you are eligible for an early discounted capital credit refund. However, if you choose to wait for your full refund, it’s strongly recommended that you keep a current address on file with GVEA.