MANSFIELD — Tri-County Rural Electric Cooperative will be returning nearly $1 million in capital credits to members and former members of the cooperative beginning in December.

The Tri-County board of directors approved the retirement of $945,000 worth of capital credits allocated to members’ accounts in 1988 and 2018.

Current Tri-County members who received electric service from the cooperative in the retirement years will receive a credit on their December electric bills.

The cooperative will mail checks to all inactive Tri-County members who are entitled to a capital credits refund but have moved from the co-op’s service area. The checks will be mailed Tuesday.

Capital credits reflect margins the cooperative realizes at the end of each year. Margins are the excess of income over expenses.

Because cooperatives are member-owned, not-for-profit enterprises, margins are allocated back to the members in the form of capital credits. The amount of the allocation to a member’s account is based on that member’s energy consumption during the retirement years.

With headquarters in Mansfield, Tri-County Rural Electric Cooperative provides electric distribution service to nearly 17,000 members in Tioga, Potter, Bradford, Lycoming, McKean, Cameron and Clinton counties.