Update on Trico Electric Cooperative’s Facilities Damaged by the Bighorn Fire and Notice of Planned Outage
July 31, 2020
Trico has been working to repair its power line that runs up the West slope of Mt. Lemmon (West Line) which was damaged by the Bighorn Fire. This line is used to provide power to Mt. Lemmon. Trico has been serving Members on Mt. Lemmon using our backup generator located near the Mt. Lemmon Fire Department. The repairs to the West Line are anticipated to be completed this weekend, reconnecting the normal source of power to Mt. Lemmon.
There will be a brief outage of approximately one hour, while power is transferred from the backup generator to the repaired line. To help our Members plan for this brief outage, Trico has set two possible windows for the planned outage. Weather and system permitting, Trico plans to transfer from the generator to the repaired line between 8 am and 9 am on Saturday, August 1. In the event we are unable to make the transition during this time, we plan to complete the work on Sunday, August 2 between 8 am and 9 am. Members should expect an outage to occur during one of these windows.
Repair work will continue on the line that runs down the East slope of Mt. Lemmon (East Line). That work will not impact service to Summerhaven or the rest of the Mount Lemmon community. We anticipate that, weather permitting, the work on the East Line will take approximately two to three more weeks to complete based on the visible damage to the line. Work will include the use of a helicopter to deliver poles and materials to the worksites. The Forest is closed, so please stay out of the area, and please do not fly drones in the area because it can interfere with the helicopter performing work.
We understand that this has been a very stressful time for all of you, and we appreciate your patience and support as we work to repair our facilities damaged by the fire.
Please continue to look to Trico’s website (www.trico.coop) and its social media accounts for updates. If you experience any issues or have any questions, please contact Trico Dispatch at 520-744-2944.
CAPITAL CREDITS
WHAT ARE CAPITAL CREDITS?
DO I HAVE UNCLAIMED CAPITAL CREDITS?
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HOW TO DONATE CAPITAL CREDITS?
Article VIII, Section 4 of Trico’s Bylaws permits members to voluntarily assign their patronage capital to the Trico Foundation, an educational and charitable foundation which supports education programs within the Trico service area.
If you would like to donate your patronage capital to the Trico Foundation, please click on the “Download Now” link below, print the document, sign it and return it to capitalcredits@trico.coop. Please allow up to two weeks for a Trico representative to contact you regarding your request.
CAPITAL CREDIT FAQS
In a nonprofit cooperative like Trico, the amount of revenue each year over and above expenses is the Cooperative’s annual margin. As a member-owned cooperative, Trico allocates its annual margin to the equity account of its members, based on the amount of electric service taken by the member that year. Those allocations are called capital credits.
Allocated capital credits appear as an entry on Trico’s permanent financial records and reflect your equity in the Cooperative. Allocated capital credits are account entries and have no cash value until they are retired. Each year, the Trico Board considers whether the Cooperative is in a financial position to retire a portion of its allocated capital credits. When capital credits are retired, they are paid out to you in cash or as a credit to your monthly electric bill. Your equity account is reduced by the number of capital credits retired. Capital credits are typically retired over approximately a 25-year period.
Note, that if you have a delinquent bill outstanding to the Cooperative, your capital credit retirement is first applied to your delinquent balance. Any remaining retirement amount is paid to you.
Trico does not have a provision for retirement of capital credits to members in advance of the normal retirement schedule and process. However, you can donate your capital credits to the Trico Foundation, and the Trico Foundation will receive the capital credits on a normal retirement schedule. The Trico Foundation uses unclaimed and donated capital credits to help fund education programs and scholarships for college students.
Capital credits are not cash, they represent your share of the Cooperative’s equity (created through margins) during the time of your membership. The Cooperative’s allocated equity is currently more than $40 million. Like any business, Trico needs to maintain enough equity to operate the business, in our case to provide reliable service for current and future members. Capital credit retirements are like dividends, in that they represent a return of a portion of equity over and above what is necessary to operate the Cooperative properly. They are paid in the form of cash or bill credits when the Board determines the financial condition and business needs of the Cooperative warrants it.
Your capital credits remain on Trico’s financial records in your name until they are retired. Capital credit retirements to your account will continue to be made until the balance is fully paid out, typically over a period of up to 25 years.
It is your responsibility to notify Trico of any changes in address, so you can be located when it is time to retire capital credits. If capital credit checks are returned and no forwarding address information is available to Trico within three years of the capital credit retirement date, the funds are transferred to the Trico Foundation to fund educational programs and scholarships.
If the membership is a joint membership, the surviving spouse becomes the sole member, and the capital credit account remains in the name of the surviving spouse. Allocated capital credits will continue to be retired to the surviving spouse on a normal retirement schedule.
If the membership is a single membership, the estate of the member may assign the capital credit account in accordance with the Last Will and Testament of the deceased member, or the Personal Representative of the deceased member’s estate may apply for a retirement of the member’s capital account on a discounted basis. The Board has full discretion with respect to the discounted retirement of capital credit balances to estates. The estate must submit a request for a discounted retirement with acceptable documentation for consideration by the Board.
Capital credits are typically retired over approximately a 25-year period. When approved by the Board, capital credit retirements to an estate are discounted in recognition of the time value of money (funds received today are worth more than the same amount of funds over time). The alternative is for the estate to distribute the capital credit account in accordance with the Last Will and Testament of the deceased member, and the capital credits will be retired in the ordinary course.
Please contact us at (520) 744-2944, ext.1510 or by email at capitalcredits@trico.coop.
Trico Electric is an Equal Opportunity Provider & Employer.
Si necesita esta información en español, por favor llame al (520) 744-2944 para ayuda.
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