Md. Code Ann., Corps. & Ass'ns § 5-638

Redline — January 1, 2019 → current.View current text →

Current — January 1, 2021

As of January 1, 2019

(a) Revenues of a cooperative for a fiscal year may be used:

(1) To pay the expenses of operating and maintaining the facilities of the cooperative during the fiscal year;

(2) To pay interest and principal obligations of the cooperative that are due in the fiscal year;

(3) To the extent determined by the board of directors, to finance or provide a reserve for the financing of the construction or acquisition by the cooperative of additional facilities;

(4) To provide a reasonable reserve for working capital;

(5) To provide a reserve for the payment of the indebtedness of the cooperative in an amount not less than the total interest and principal payments that are due during the next fiscal year;

(6) To provide for education about cooperatives; and

(7) To provide for the dissemination of information about the effective use of electricity and services made available by the cooperative.

(b) (1) Unless otherwise determined by a vote of the members of the cooperative, for each fiscal year, the revenues of a cooperative in excess of the amount necessary to provide for the items described in subsection (a) of this section shall be allocated by the cooperative, in the form of patronage credits, to:

(i) Its members; and

(ii) Other persons to whom the cooperative supplies electricity or provides other services.

(2) For each fiscal year, the patronage credits shall be allocated to a member or other person in proportion to the patronage of the member or other person during the fiscal year.

(c) This section does not prohibit the payment by a cooperative of all or part of its indebtedness before it becomes due.

(a) A member–regulated cooperative shall make available to its members:

(1) Rate schedules, tariffs, and terms and conditions of service;

(2) Financial and statistical information regarding:

(i) Operating revenues;

(ii) Revenues per rate class;

(iii) Number of members per rate class; and

(iv) Number of meters per rate class;

(3) Data and information concerning load management, energy conservation, and other similar programs;

(4) Information concerning ongoing consumer education programs; and

(5) Information concerning the member–regulated cooperative’s performance, including income statements, balance sheets, and reliability data.

(b) A member–regulated cooperative may not adopt a new rate or increase or decrease its rates or charges for the services it provides unless the member–regulated cooperative provides to its members:

(1) Notice of the proposed rates;

(2) The opportunity to comment on the proposed rates; and

(3) The opportunity to observe the portion of the meeting in which the board of directors votes on the proposed rates.

Official source: Maryland General Assembly. Reproduced from public-domain Maryland statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.