December 5th, 2018 by Allie Foster, Marketing and Communications Manager 

Electric cooperatives are not like other utilities. You, our member, own a portion of the business. Many people associate ownership with money; and that is no different with your ownership of the co-op. As a member, a portion of what you pay on your electric bill is returned to you. This is called capital credits.

In addition to the financial part of ownership, there is the aspect of power and control. And your membership in the cooperative provides you both. You are in control of who runs your co-op. Every year, at the Annual Meeting, you have the chance to vote for who will represent your cooperative on the board of directors. Your cooperative is locally controlled by a board of directors, made up entirely of co-op members who live and work in your community. In addition, every member, including you, has the opportunity to run for the board.     

As you can see, cooperatives are different from other businesses. In order to best meet our members’ needs, all cooperatives operate on seven guiding principles. Following these principles, we strive to improve our members’ lives as many ways as we can.

At MEC, we want you to understand that we are here for you and we are always willing to help. Every decision that is made here is intended to be in the best interest for the membership as a whole. In short, MEC cares about you, our members, because YOU OWN US! Learn more about the power of your co-op membership at www.maconelectric.com.