Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative will be returning money to its members, some from 2025 and other money related to balances from 2002 and part of 2003.
The Coop’s Board of Directors voted to return $2.7 million in total, according to a news release last week.
Approximately $1 million of the retirement is related to margins, or profits, earned during 2025. Roughly $1.67 million will be returned to members based on their usage from more than two decades ago.
Beth Amaro, spokesperson for KIUC, said the nonprofit cooperative, founded in 2002, is funded through equity paid by its members. She explained that at the end of the year, anything the cooperative received in excess of its expenses goes back to its members into their patronage capital accounts.
This is the first time in KIUC’s 23 years of operation that patronage capital from previous years will be retired or returned.
“KIUC is in a strong position after more than two decades of responsible financial management,” KIUC Board Chair Allan Smith said. “We feel it’s time to begin to retire patronage capital accrued by members during the earliest years following our formation whenever our financial performance allows.”
The total amount of patronage capital credited to members as a retirement will depend on the timeframe they were a KIUC member and how much electricity they used.
But it will be far from a windfall.
Amaro said an average member who used about 500 kilowatt hours of electricity a month in 2025, which is an average household, will likely get back between $12 and $15. It could be more or less, depending on the usage.
For members getting a return for usage in 2002 and 2003, it would be a similar amount. For members getting a return back for last year and the early 2000s, Amaro said it could range from $30 to $50.
Members will see the status of their patronage capital account, including the amount of patronage capital allocated in 2025, their total unretired allocation, and their retirement amount on their May 2026 billing statement.
For members without an active account, a check will be mailed to the address on record.
More information about patronage capital is on KIUC’s website: www.kiuc.coop/patronage-capital. Contact KIUC at 808-246-4300 for additional questions.
