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Patronage

Being a member-owner has its benefits.

If you are a new electric cooperative member-owner, you probably haven't thought too much about the cooperative process. In fact you probably just think, "That's the place we get our power from."  While that's true, buying electricity from an electric cooperative makes you more than a customer, it makes you a part-time owner in the business - a member-owner. You can vote at the Annual Meeting or call us any time to offer your comments on cooperative issues and direction.

Your electric cooperative is very different from other utilities because it is a not-for-profit business. Funds remaining after expenses are called margins or patronage capital and are reinvested in providing you and your community the best possible service. As new funds continue to come in - they replace old funds which are then paid back to you in the form of a patronage dividend check or if you are a current customer, it is applied to your electric bill.

Payment is based on the amount of electricity you have purchased. While checks aren't issued the same year they are earned, you can rest assured the margins are used to keep your rates lower than they might be if large sums of money had to be borrowed from other sources.

It is the policy of the Cooperative to maintain a program of refunding patronage dividends to estates of deceased natural persons who were patrons of the Cooperative.

Effective January 1, 2017, the following options will be available for payment of deferred patronage dividends to the estate of a deceased member:

1. The estate may apply for all deferred patronage dividends allocated to the deceased member. This allocation will be paid in one lump sum according to present value calculations using a discount rate approved by the Board of Directors. The discount rate currently in effect is 5 percent.

-or-

2. The deferred patronage dividends of the deceased member may remain on the books of the cooperative, either in the name of the estate or assigned to an heir, and paid at 100 percent value when approved by the Board of Directors as part of a general patronage retirement. This general patronage retirement cycle is usually no greater than 20 years.

Please keep the Cooperative informed of your current address to assure notification of margin allocations and patronage dividend payments.

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Contact Info

Southwest Iowa Rural Electric Cooperative

1801 Grove Avenue

PO Box 367

Corning, IA 50841

Tel: (888)-220-4869

Fax: 641-322-5274

 

Our Mission

Provide safe, reliable electric service and promote community and economic development utilizing cooperative principles and values.

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©2025 Southwest Iowa Rural Electric Cooperative. All Rights Reserved.

  • Home
  • About Us
    • Organization
      • Board of Directors
      • Employees
      • Management
    • Cooperative Principles
    • Employment Opportunities
    • Financials
    • Governing Documents
    • Contact Us
    • Our History
    • Power Supply
    • Service Territory Map
    • Frequently Asked Questions
  • My Account
    • SmartHub
    • Manage My Account
      • Forms
    • Medical Alert
    • Outages
    • Rates
      • Line Upgrades & Cost Allocation
    • Service Requests & Fees
      • Complaints
    • Understanding Your Bill
      • High Bill Resources
      • Energy Adjustment Charge
    • Your Meter
  • Member Services
    • Co-op Connections Card
    • Distributed Generation
    • Energy Saving Resources
      • Brochures
      • Energy Audits
      • Energy Guides
      • Energy Saving Tips
      • Ground Source Heat Pumps
      • While You're Away
    • Patronage
    • Rebates
    • Together We Save
    • Water Heaters
  • My Community
    • Character Counts
    • Economic Development
      • Iowa Area Development Group
      • Loans
      • Properties and Sites
    • Helpful Web Links
    • Operation Round Up
    • RECare
    • Scholarships
    • Southwest Iowa Solar Farm
    • Touchstone Energy Cooperatives
    • Youth Tour
  • Safety
    • Electrical Safety
      • Grain Bin Clearances
      • Right of Way Guidelines
      • Safe Electricity
      • Stray Voltage
    • Iowa One Call
    • Outage Restoration
    • Security Lights
    • Storm Center
  • Communications
    • Annual Meeting
    • Newsletters
    • Questline
  • Legislative
    • Cooperative Action Network
    • Legislative Contacts
    • Legislative Update
    • Member Advocacy