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Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative (SMECO) is issuing capital credit refunds totaling more than $4.25 million. The general refund amounts to approximately $3.073 million and the special refund to estates of deceased members and to unpaid final bills is $1.185 million.The general refund will be issued beginning in mid-July as a credit on customer-members’ bills.

All active customer-members will receive a credit on the bill for their primary account.If customers wish to contact SMECO to designate their primary account, they may call 1-888-440-3311.Inactive members will receive a full refund of the balance in their capital credit account if the balance is $50 or less.Capital credits are used to pay any amount due if a customer had an unpaid final bill for electric service.

According to Austin J Slater, Jr., SMECO president and CEO, “This is our favorite time of year.Our customers realize the benefit of being electric cooperative members when they receive a portion of the co-op’s margins as a credit on their bill.That’s something the customers of an investor-owned utility would never see.”

SMECO’s margins for 2010 totaled $17,054,000.Because SMECO is a cooperative, margins—revenue minus expenses—are retained to provide working capital for new construction and system improvements.Margins are refunded to customer-members in the form of capital credits when SMECO’s Board of Directors determines that the co-op’s financial conditions can be met.

Each member’s share of the co-op’s margins is based on how much electricity the member purchased and the rate at which the account was billed.SMECO is a customer-owned electric cooperative providing electricity to 124,000 members with 150,000 services in Charles County, St. Mary’s County, southern Prince George’s County, and all but the northeast portion of Calvert County.Co-ops are distinctly different from investor-owned utilities because co-ops are owned by their customers, and customer-members elect the men and women who serve on the Board of Directors.