KIUC to return $2.7 million to members, largest payout since 2018

Kauai Island Utility Cooperative will return $2.7 million to members in May, a payout that marks its largest patronage capital retirement since 2018 and sends real money back to households and businesses across the island.

About $1 million of the retirement comes from favorable 2025 financial results, while roughly $1.67 million is being returned from usage recorded in 2002 and part of 2003. That makes this year’s retirement more than a routine year-end credit. It is the first time in KIUC’s 23 years of operation that patronage capital from previous years will be retired, turning old member equity into cash after more than two decades on the co-op’s books.

Members will see the retirement reflected on their May 2026 billing statements, and former members without active accounts will receive checks by mail. The amount each person gets will depend on when they were enrolled and how much electricity they used, since patronage capital is allocated based on electricity purchases. With KIUC serving 39,301 meters and about 77% of its members in residential accounts, the payout reaches deep into Kauai County’s monthly budgets, from family homes to small commercial users watching every utility charge.

The board’s decision also points to the utility’s financial position. KIUC says it has built about $120 million in equity since becoming a cooperative in 2002 and has already retired nearly $40 million in patronage capital to members. Even after this latest retirement, the co-op says its equity-to-capital ratio remains 37.0 percent, a sign it is still keeping enough financial strength to maintain the grid while returning capital to member-owners. Board policy requires directors to balance low electricity costs with healthy margins and financial ratios that can support a reasonable retirement cycle.

KIUC board chair Allan Smith said the cooperative is in a strong financial position after more than two decades of responsible management. CEO David Bissell said the payout reflects the cooperative model, in which member money stays in the community instead of flowing to outside shareholders. The 2024 annual report said KIUC had returned $37.9 million to members since 2002, and a 2020 report noted an early $1.24 million retirement during the pandemic. Against that backdrop, this year’s $2.7 million return stands out as both a pocketbook relief measure and a signal that the island’s sole electric provider remains able to reward members without weakening its balance sheet.