How the Finance team helps to keep us growing

Every day, truckloads of power lines, meters, transformers, poles, pipes and other equipment leave CoServ headquarters to be installed in the service area of one of the fastest-growing electric cooperatives in the country.

In June alone, CoServ added more than 1,700 new electric and gas meters with every one of them requiring distribution equipment to deliver energy reliably and efficiently.

It’s a mammoth undertaking that keeps CoServ linemen busy in the field – not to mention the other 47 departments at CoServ.

But without the funds to buy, everything comes to a halt.

CoServ’s Finance Department plays a critical role ensuring there are adequate funds to equip all 550-plus Employees with the resources needed to safely serve our Members and Customers.

“We provide the financing for growth,” Ken Turner, Director of Finance, said. “The Finance Department does much of the work behind the scenes to make the rest of the company run smoothly, such as ensuring payments from Members and Customers are reconciled to the billing records and that Capital Credits are allocated proportionately.”

Working alongside Ken, is Rebecca Fuller, Treasury Services Manager, and Glen Carpenter, Risk Manager. In addition to securing loans and submitting the proper compliance paperwork, this team has several other responsibilities, including preparing financial statements for CoServ and its subsidiaries, overseeing treasury services through our bank, reporting securitization payments, handling Member claims and facility damages, and managing Capital Credit allocations and retirements.

Capital Credits are one of the biggest advantages of being part of an electric cooperative. Though many departments are involved in the Capital Credit process, Ken and his team play a critical role in allocating and retiring Capital Credits.

They do this by taking CoServ’s annual margins (profits) and allocate them back to Members based on their kilowatt purchases for that year – the more electricity they buy, the more Capital Credits are allocated to their account. Then, the Board of Directors reviews company finances, and when our financial condition permits, the Board may retire (pay) a portion of the Capital Credits to our Members. For current Members, they are applied as a bill credit on August bills. For former Members, a check is mailed to the last known address.

“This year, CoServ retired $12 million in Capital Credits,” Ken said. “We apply it as a credit to August bills because that’s historically one of the highest electric bills of the year.”

All eligible Members can view their Capital Credit retirement amount in the Energy Snapshot portion of their August bill. For former Members, a check is mailed to the last known address.