South Mississippi Electric Power Association

“The board of directors of cooperative energy consists of 2 directors from each of the 11 member nonprofit distribution cooperatives that own cooperative energy, plus 2 at large directors who also serve on the board of directors of the member cooperative for a total of 24 directors. Eleven directors serving on cooperative energy's board of directors are general manager of the member cooperative. Thus the general manager and director from each member cooperative have a business relationship with each other while serving as directors for cooperative energy.”

“See response to part vi section a question 2 above.”

“See response to part vi section a question 2 above.”

“See response to part vi section a question 2 above.”

“A copy of the 2024 form 990 was reviewed with the budget and finance committee and reported to the board of directors. On the budget and finance committee's recommendation, the board authorized the execution and filing the return.”

“Conflict of interest policy enforcement - directors, officers, and key employees annually complete, and sign, a questionaire relative to independence, business relationships, etc. Directors shall avoid actual or apparent conflicts between personal interests and official responsibilities on behalf of cooperative energy. A conflict occurs when a director or family member has private interests that interfere with the director's responsibility to act objectively and effectively in the best interest of cooperative energy. Any director who becomes aware that the conduct of others violates this code is obligated to report the violation to the general counsel.”

“Cooperative energy has compensation ranges that were established by an independent consultant. In 2024, the organization again engaged the consultant to review and adjust these ranges to ensure they remained fair, equitable, and competitive with market trends. The consultant analyzed multiple compensation surveys and other market data to provide comparable compensation information. This information was used to evaluate executive management team salaries and to ensure that the ceo's salary recommendations for the team were aligned with market benchmarks. The budget and finance committee and the board of directors approved these recommendations. The board of directors determined the ceo's salary based on market data and compensation surveys.”

“Receptionists have been informed that the form 990 will be made available. Financial statements are available on the organization's website.”

“Other changes in net assets 9,818,321.”

“Excess of revenues over expenses, or net margin of $20,000,000, is allocated to the 11 member cooperatives based on sales. This is only an allocation of patronage capital. No actual payment is made to the members. This allocation of patronage capital is shown as a functional expense in part ix, number 4, per form 990 instructions effective for 2024 reporting. Cooperative energy does not include this allocation of patronage capital as an expense for financial reporting. During 2024 patronage capital amounting to $10,181,679.53 was retired.”

“There were no changes in the process for the 2024 tax year.”