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Unclaimed dollars make a difference

Electric cooperatives — including San Isabel Electric — are built on the principle of community service. There are few initiatives that highlight this better than our community donation and sponsorship program.

San Isabel Electric is proud of the work we did in 2024 to give back to the community.

Community donations transform potentially lost opportunities into meaningful change for the communities we serve. Every dollar we spend in donations comes from unclaimed capital credits.

WHERE DO UNCLAIMED CAPITAL CREDITS COME FROM?

Unlike investor-owned utilities, electric cooperatives operate on a not-for-profit model.  Member-owners pay for service, and at the end of each year, any surplus revenue is allocated back to members as capital credits. Capital credit checks typically range from $10 to a few hundred dollars. If the checks don’t get cashed, the unclaimed funds, by law, can no longer be used to operate the utility. So instead, SIEA redirects them to benefit the community.

“We’re taking money that could have been lost and turning it into something that benefits everyone,” said SIEA Board of Directors President Jacque Sikes. “It’s a way of paying it forward and showing our members that they’re part of something bigger than themselves.”

In addition to SIEA’s donations, in 2024, Basin Electric Power Cooperative — a power supplier to our primary power supplier, Tri-State Generation & Transmission — matched each donation dollar for dollar through June.

SIEA is always looking for opportunities to give back to the communities we serve. To learn more about our community donation program or to fill out an online donation application, please visit us online at siea.com/donations.