Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative announces $3 million capital credit retirement
By Logan Bagett on Wednesday, December 10th, 2025 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
BAKER CITY – (Release from Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative) Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative (OTEC) is pleased to announce that the Board of Directors has approved the retirement of $3 million in capital credits for 2025. This marks the 29th consecutive year of returning capital credits to OTEC member-owners. This milestone reflects OTEC’s commitment to financial health, strong leadership, and its member-focused mission. Since its founding, OTEC has returned a total of $61 million to member-owners and the communities it serves.
What Are Capital Credits?
Capital credits are a unique benefit of being part of a member-owned cooperative. Unlike investor-owned utilities, which pay profits to outside shareholders, OTEC is owned by the people it serves. If OTEC’s annual income exceeds expenses, the leftover funds – referred to as “margins” – are allocated to member-owners according to allocable charges related to their electricity consumption. These allocations are known as your capital credits, representing each member’s share in the cooperative’s success.
How Capital Credits Work
OTEC reinvests these funds for a period to support long-term financial needs, including system upgrades, new equipment, technology improvements, and infrastructure maintenance. This practice reduces the need for interest-bearing loans, helping keep operating costs and electric rates lower. When financial conditions allow, these funds are “retired” and returned to member-owners, fulfilling Cooperative Principle #3: Members’ Economic Participation.
Strengthening Local Communities
The return of capital credits does more than benefit individual members, it strengthens our local economies by keeping dollars in the communities OTEC serves. Maintaining competitive rates while returning capital credits demonstrates that the cooperative model continues to work for OTEC member-owners, year after year.
2025 Capital Credit Distribution A credit is applied to the account if the retirement amount is
$150 or less, if your account is past due, or has an unpaid bad debt balance. Checks will be issued for amounts in excess of $150 to members whose accounts are in good standing. Capital credit checks will be mailed by the end of the year.
To learn more about capital credits or your member-owned cooperative, visit the OTEC website at otec.coop
About the cooperative
Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative (OTEC) is a not-for-profit, member-owned electric cooperative that serves nearly 60,000 residents in four counties in Eastern Oregon. Headquartered in Baker City, OTEC has district offices in Burns, John Day and La Grande.
