They asked for transparency last week.

And this week, members of Cobb EMC, a nonprofit electric cooperative in northwest metro Atlanta, got a little of it — although some said not enough to answer their questions about the co-op and its relationship with a for-profit affiliate.

Days after Cobb EMC held a contentious annual membership meeting, its customer-members received notices in the mail that said how much money they individually invested in their co-op last year by paying more than the nonprofit's expenses and operating costs. A number of members said Tuesday that they had not seen such notices before.

Complaints about Cobb EMC's lack of financial disclosures came up repeatedly at last week's meeting, with members questioning the co-op's spending, including the money they invest through their bills.

An Atlanta Journal-Constitution story on Aug. 19 raised questions about the co-op's finances and transparency, including its financial relationship with for-profit Cobb Energy.

Cobb Energy, which is partly owned by co-op insiders, profits by providing management services to Cobb EMC and has branched into a number of other for-profit businesses, including pest control, staffing and mortgages. Co-op funds have also been invested in and loaned to Cobb Energy.

Like all power companies in Georgia, Cobb EMC is a monopoly for all but the largest electric customers in its territory.

Co-op customers own their co-op by providing capital, over and above the co-op's operating expenses.

Called patronage capital, that investment belongs to co-op customers, according to how much of it they have paid: Cobb EMC holds $261 million in member investment, according to its 2007 annual report.

Although the co-op has rebated some energy savings back to customers — $33 million between 1996 and 2004, according to Cobb EMC — it hasn't refunded any of its members' patronage capital in more than 30 years.

Customers contacted by the AJC on Tuesday said they did not remember ever receiving a notice about their individual patronage capital from Cobb EMC in the past.

"First one I've ever gotten," said Sims Maddox, who was among co-op members who peppered co-op leadership with questions at Cobb EMC's annual meeting last week.

"It's definitely the first," said Tripper Sharp, who also spoke at that meeting.

When asked whether those members' memories were correct, Cobb EMC did not respond Tuesday.

At the annual meeting, Dwight Brown — the CEO of Cobb EMC and Cobb Energy — blasted the AJC article. He said he "took it very personally, the lies put in the article and the insulting tone to people I work with every day. To imply they're not acting in the best interests of members is a blatant lie."

Brown declined to answer a number of questions about Cobb Energy at that meeting, including the size of his Cobb Energy pay and Cobb Energy ownership stake.

The dollar amounts listed in this week's notices weren't huge, at least for residential ratepayers.

Maddox, Sharp and others reported sums ranging from $14 to nearly $200.

The amounts are what they have paid in patronage capital in 2006. They do not represent longer-term members' total investment in Cobb EMC.

Although the notice says members have been allocated a capital "credit," it isn't a promise to cut a check.

Like all co-ops, Cobb EMC uses patronage capital to support its business and refunds it if, as the Cobb EMC notice said, "in the discretion of the corporation's board of directors the financial integrity of the organization will not be harmed by such action."

Although many co-ops tell members their annual investment, few send out separate mailings like Cobb EMC did, said Kevin Williams, a Nashville lawyer who studies co-ops.

"Co-ops have to tread carefully" when talking about members' invested capital balances, he said. They "don't want to draw too much attention to the matter, as customers might demand cash that the co-op does not have."

"In my experience, when co-ops advise customers of their allocations, it's often a single line on a billing statement," he said.

Williams applauded Cobb for "informing its members about an essential part of their ownership ..."

The members contacted by the AJC said they believed the mailing was a response to their questions and called it a start at best.

"There so many larger issues here," said Sharp. "The biggest is the creation of Cobb Energy and who owns Cobb Energy and how much of Cobb EMC's resources are going into Cobb Energy's profits."