Money back in your pocket
As a member-owner, you’re more than just a customer — when the cooperative does well, you share in the success and get money back
Capital credits are excess revenue above what it takes to run the co-op. When you belong to an electric cooperative, you're not a customer, you are a member and a co-op owner. In return you receive a share of annual profits. The amount each member gets back depends on how much electricity you used in previous years and how long you have been a Bluebonnet member.
In 2025 Bluebonnet will return more than $11 million in capital credits to members. Read more
Differences between allocations and retirements
| Allocation | Retirement | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | The allocation of margins to members based on their electricity usage in a given year. | The Board may approve to return previously allocated margins to members. |
| Who does it go to? | Active members who purchased electricity from the co-op during the year. | Active or former members who had allocations in past years. Even if you’ve moved away, you may still receive retirements from years when you were a member. |
| When does this happen? | Allocations are processed once a year, typically in the spring. | When approved by the Board, general retirements are typically processed once a year and returned in May, while special retirements occur in September. |
| How are they sent? | Active members will receive notification of their allocation amount on their May bill. Former members that were active during the allocation year will be notified of their total through a mailed letter. | Active members will receive a credit on their bill. All eligible former members will receive a mailed check. |
How capital credits work
Capital Credit FAQs
Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative is a nonprofit, member-owned business. Unlike private, for-profit businesses that pay dividends to their shareholders, Bluebonnet shares its excess revenue — money it collects above what it takes to run the business on an annual basis — with its members in the form of an allocation of capital credits. Capital credits may be retired at the discretion of Bluebonnet’s Board of Directors when the cooperative has met certain financial requirements and other obligations.
Yes. If you purchase electricity from the co-op, you are a member and automatically earn capital credits based on how much electricity you use.
An allocation is your share of the margins. Bluebonnet sets this money aside to use as operating capital for improvements and maintenance. A retirement is the amount you receive in a check or as a credit on your bill. It is a percentage of your allocation accumulated over the years.
Each year, the co-op calculates how much electricity you purchased and how much revenue was left after covering expenses. Your portion of the margins is allocated to you based on your electricity use.
Because it is important for the economic strength of the cooperative to retain a portion of the money its members pay in order to invest back into the cooperative, Bluebonnet members cannot cash out their capital credits. In general, Bluebonnet members can expect their capital credit balance to be paid out over a 30-year period, because that is the useful life of most capital assets funded by our members’ patronage.
Bluebonnet’s Board of Directors voted to provide early retirement of capital credits as a service to former members who are owed less than a certain amount in order to help facilitate the closing of those inactive accounts. Bluebonnet has also approved providing early retirement of capital credits as a service to the estates of deceased members so that their executors can distribute the funds and close out the estates in a timely manner.
Yes. If you move out of Bluebonnet's service area, your capital credits are still yours. Be sure to keep your address updated so we can reach you when it’s time to retire your credits. Call 800-842-7708 to update your address with a member service representative from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Sometimes members move away or forget to update their mailing address. When this happens, we may have capital credits waiting to be claimed. Individuals with an unclaimed property request are advised to visit the Texas' Unclaimed Property website