SPEC Gives Back $2.3 Million to Members

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San Patricio Electric Cooperative is led by members of the community, owned by the community and strives to always give back to those that we serve.  It’s this business model that allows us to focus on people, not profits.

We’re proud to announce that San Patricio Electric Cooperative is giving back more than $2.3 million to our members in 2020.

Of that amount, $1.2 million will be returned as billing credits on bills mailed in early December. That averages about $150 per member. For many members, that means their bills were completely covered, or significantly reduced this month. We know that can be a big help during the holiday season, and may be doubly appreciated in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Billing credits were distributed in proportion to how much electricity you used throughout the year. The more electricity you used, the higher your bill credit. Likewise, if you kept your electricity costs low, you received a proportionate amount of billing credits.

In addition to the billing credits members received, SPEC also retired $1,138,376 in capital credits from the years 2003, 2004, 2005 and a portion of 2019. Members who were part of the co-op in these years will receive a capital credit check in early December, relative to the amount of electricity they consumed in those years.

Capital credits is a term SPEC uses to refer to our margins (profits minus expenses). When you pay your bill each month, SPEC uses that money to pay for things like the cost of power, maintenance on our system and our operations. Margins are what’s leftover after all of those bills are paid. 

Each year, SPEC’s Board of Directors evaluates the cooperatives financial standing and determines what, if any, margins can be returned to our members. Since 2009, SPEC has retired more than $17 million in capital credits.

It may seem like a lengthy payback period –the year 2005 was quite some time ago—but we keep these funds for a period of time for the benefit of all members. Holding on to these capital credits allows the co-op to borrow loan funds at better interest rates, which in turn helps keep electricity rates affordable. These funds can also be utilized in the event of a natural disaster. In the case of Hurricane Harvey, SPEC repaired $3.5 million in damages without having to increase rates for members.

In fact, SPEC has not increased rates since 2006. Over the last 14 years, we’ve been able to keep rates level due to new technologies, a regular maintenance program and the low price of natural gas, among other things. And of course, the billing credits and capital credit checks we return to members also help reduce your overall cost for electricity.

We won’t always be able to keep our rates where they are today, but rest assured, we will always work hard to keep our costs as low as possible, and to give back to our members whenever we can.