Members attending the 87th annual Excelsior Electric Membership Corporation (EMC) Annual Meeting at the Bulloch County Agricultural Complex got some great news today – the cooperative is returning $4.8 million dollars in a capital credit refund.
“Beginning in a few days, Excelsior EMC will begin returning $4.8 million in capital credit refunds to members who had electric service with the co-op from 1951 through 1980,” said Excelsior EMC CEO Greg Proctor. “The amount of each member’s refund will depend on the amount of their electric bills during that time. Active members will automatically receive a check. Former members, their heirs, or representatives will need to apply for the refund.”
Capital credits come from money that’s left over after all the bills are paid. Cooperatives call these funds “margins” and use them to invest in their electric system and manage debt. Excelsior EMC keeps up with each member’s capital credits and when financial conditions permit, returns some of them.
“The best way to get information and apply for the refund is by using our website, excelsioremc.com,” continued Proctor. “We also have an extensive information campaign planned through our website, newsletter, social media and the local news media.”
“Your board of directors has been diligently working for some time to make this refund possible. I appreciate their hard work, and I hope you do, too,” said Proctor.
In addition to a big refund announcement, Proctor delivered more good news during his business session address: “You’ll be pleased to know that Excelsior EMC customer-owners are still paying less for electricity than the average Georgia consumer. If your home uses 1,500 kWh during a summer month, you save $99.88 per month by being a member of Excelsior EMC rather than a customer of Georgia Power.
2024 was a year of exceptional weather events for the cooperative. Proctor praised Excelsior EMC’s employees for their dedication and perseverance in overcoming the challenges of multiple significant storm events.
“In a three-month period, we experienced Hurricane Debby and its 15-plus inches of rain, Hurricane Helene with its devastating destruction and an unnamed storm the first week of November that dumped another foot of rain on an already-battered community,” said Proctor. “Oh, and I forgot to mention the snowstorm that gave us four inches of beautiful, fluffy snow in January.”
Proctor highlighted Excelsior EMC’s growth, including 25 miles of new line last year that brings the total size of the system to more than 3,500 miles. One of the 157 new accounts is a customer-choice industrial load, Ecoplastic America, that expects to bring more than 500 jobs to the community.
In other happenings at the meeting:
- Three directors were re-elected to serve three-year terms. Those directors are Jordy Carter – District 6, Russell Mathis – District 7 and Wade Hodges – District 8.
- Sixteen employees were recognized for a combined 260 years of service to the cooperative: Mallory Woods-Purvis, Tucker Attebery, Stephen Burke, and Roy Roberts, five years; Tammy Trapnell, Evan Johnson, Derek Lindsey, and Brittany Odom, ten years; Jim Donaldson, Jamey Holland, Rhett Youngblood, and Howard Porter, 15 years; Ann Durden, 20 years; Janice Donaldson, Christy Powell, Greg Proctor, and Scott Carroll, 30 years.
- All members attending received a registration gift. Ten lucky members won $100 gift cards and many others won door prizes.
Excelsior EMC is a member-owned cooperative supplying safe, reliable electric power to more than 25,000 accounts in eight southeast Georgia counties including Bryan, Bulloch, Candler, Effingham, Emanual, Evans, Jenkins and Tattnall. The cooperative, chartered in 1938, is headquartered in Metter with a branch office in Statesboro.
