Posted on: Saturday, March 8, 2003

Kaua'i utility co-op repays loan

Advertiser Staff

The Kaua'i Island Utility Co-op, which bought Kaua'i Electric last year, had a successful first quarter and paid back a $3 million loan for working capital, the co-op said.

The organization borrowed money from an association of utility cooperatives, the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corp.

The firm's financing to buy the utility, a $215 million purchase, came from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service.

All Kaua'i Electric customers were offered the opportunity to opt out of becoming members of the utility cooperative, but only a handful did. With 99.9 percent of revenue coming from the co-op members, KUIC has qualified for full co-op tax status with the Internal Revenue Service, utility president Alton Miyamoto said. That means the organization will not be required to pay federal taxes.