BONITA SPRINGS, Fla.— Military bases have particularly complex energy needs, but the community focus and emphasis on relationship-building that electric cooperatives offer make them key partners for such facilities. And in exchange, co-ops can gain valuable experience in serving these critical loads, which are often their community's largest employers.

Those were some of the takeaways from a breakout session at Touchstone Energy® Cooperative's 2025 NEXT Conference on the challenges and opportunities of serving unique loads.

More than 150 co-ops serve military and Coast Guard facilities in 41 states, including owning and operating electric grids at 33 bases through utility privatization contracts, according to NRECA data. The military started offering these contracts in the late 1990s.

“The military base is sometimes the largest load in a co-op service territory, and it's really important that we keep that load in the co-op service territory and continue to be their trusted energy advisers," said panel moderator Lauren Khair, NRECA senior director of energy research and resilience.

Panelists noted that the knowledge co-ops gain in serving military facilities can often be transferred to their commercial and industrial members.

In Texas, Rio Grande Electric Cooperative serves two installations, Fort Bliss Army Base in El Paso and Laughlin Air Force Base in Del Rio. It plans to pilot a project in which Fort Bliss capital credits will help finance an electric bus pilot program. The buses would transport personnel to and from battalion deployments and training mobilizations and, when not in use, provide backup power through vehicle-to-grid technology in the event of a power outage.

The Brackettville-based co-op is working with base leaders to make the project permanent, an effort that requires “a lot of communication and back and forth, but I'm confident we'll be able to get this through," said Abraham Vasquez, RGEC's chief special projects development officer.

When Georgia's Canoochee Electric Cooperative began serving Fort Stewart in Hinesville and Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah in 2004, it started with the “low-hanging fruit" of inspections and replacements of poles and wiring change-outs, which were causing safety concerns, said Jeffrey Barnard, military project manager at the Reidsville-based co-op.

This was followed by installations of LED area lighting, AMI meters and microgrids.

“By trying to meter all services, we can respond faster and more efficiently with the AMI meters and provide more data to government representatives," Barnard said. “And if you've ever dealt with the military before, they love data."

Barnard said the microgrids help solve the challenge posed by the military's need for uninterrupted power. “How do you call Mother Nature and take care of that? We're always trying to think outside the box."

Another benefit to co-ops is the long-term nature of the utility privatization contracts, the panelists said. And then there's the value proposition of serving your country, they said.

“I was raised in a military family, and this is one of my opportunities to give back," Vasquez said. “Soldiers are out there fighting for our country, and so I feel that the co-op and I are contributing our part to do what the military needs."