Excelsior EMC Capital Credits
At Excelsior EMC, our mission has always been to provide the best in safe, reliable, and cost-effective service to our members. Over the years, we have reinvested margins into our distribution system to strengthen reliability and help keep rates as low as possible.
At the same time, your Board of Directors has remained committed to a long-term goal—returning capital credits to our members when the cooperative’s financial position allows. Thanks to strong financial stewardship and careful planning, we are proud to continue delivering on that commitment.
In 2025, Excelsior EMC retired capital credits for the years 1951-1980. If you were a member during that time and have not claimed your capital credits, they are still available to be claimed.
In 2026, Excelsior EMC will also be retiring capital credits to those who were members during the year 1981.
In addition, the Board has approved $500,000 to begin offering estate capital credit disbursements, providing a voluntary option for estates or heirs of deceased members to request unclaimed capital credits.
Current members and former members who have received a capital credit refund in the past and had service in 1981 will automatically receive their capital credit refund in the mail or by bill credit. There is no need to reapply. Former members who have not previously received a capital credit refund, and heirs to an estate seeking an early retirement of a deceased member’s capital credits will need to apply.
Capital Credit Application:
Two Convenient Options
Online Application
For the quickest response, fill out the online form below. Our Member Services team will review your submission and contact you for additional information if needed.
Personal Assistance
Book Your Appointment
If you require help completing the forms, please schedule an appointment below for a phone consultation or an in-person visit with a Capital Credit Specialist.
If you need assistance with more than 3 applications, you will need to make more than one appointment.
You will be asked in the next step to select In-Person or a Phone Call. For Phone Call appointment availability, please check both office locations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Profits are called margins in a cooperative business. They are the dollars that remain when the co-op’s expenses are deducted from its revenues. But differently than a for-profit business, margins are credited back to the co-op’s members in the form of capital credits.
Capital credits reflect your ownership in the cooperative and illustrate the cooperative principal of “Member economic participation.” Because Excelsior EMC is owned by its members, it would be self-defeating to make a profit. What’s left over after the bills are paid is allocated back to members depending on how much business they did with the co-op. We track the amount of each member’s capital credits in their capital credit account.
Capital credits are used to keep the co-op in a strong financial position. They are invested in the electrical system to keep it reliable and to facilitate growth. Some are used to pay down debt and keep that debt at a manageable level.
Yes. When the board of directors – fellow members you elect to represent you in the co-op’s business matters – determine that the co-op’s financial condition permits, some of the capital credits are retired, or paid back to members.
Yes! Our board has voted to return approximately $4.8 million to members beginning this May 2025.
Members who received service from Excelsior EMC from 1951 through 1980 are included in this refund. Capital credits covering the years through 1950 have already been returned.
Visit our website, excelsioremc.com. You can search through the list of refunds to determine if you’re included.
Current members- Check is mailed automatically.
Former members, heirs, or closed businesses- Visit our website, fill out the form, and submit required documents. A check will be mailed after approval.
To ensure accuracy in the refund process, memberships will not be combined for this refund cycle. You will receive a separate refund for each account. If you are a former member, heir or organization representative, you will need to apply for each membership.
You can set up an appointment with a member services representative by using the scheduling tool on our website. You can talk to a representative when your appointment arrives either by phone or in person.
You can call Excelsior EMC and set up an appointment with a member services representative. You can talk to a representative when your appointment arrives either by phone or in person.
None for current members. Only former members, heirs or representatives of businesses/organizations who no longer have accounts with Excelsior EMC will be required to submit documentation. Required documentation will be such things as official government identification; affidavits certifying you are the lawful representative of estates, businesses and organizations; copies of a will or court document naming you the executor; and copies of death certificates. Each case may be different
Specific requirements are found on the correct refund form for your situation.
Once your documentation has been received and approved, it may take up to 30 days to receive your check.
Every year, our board looks at financial statements and a capital credit study of the cooperative. It will depend on the financial condition of the co-op at that time whether a refund is authorized.
After an extensive search to find the owner, Georgia law allows for the money to be used for charitable purposes. This reflects the cooperative principle “Concern for community.”
Estate capital credits are unclaimed capital credits belonging to a deceased member. Estates or
legal heirs may choose to request these funds early at a discounted value, or leave them on the
account to be retired over time through future general retirements, as approved by the Board.