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Electric cooperatives will soon have access to free NRECA cybersecurity training through the Strategic Program Advancing Rural Knowledge (SPARK), an initiative designed to help co-ops bolster grid resilience and strengthen their operations against cyberthreats.
SPARK will aim to equip co-ops, regardless of their size or staff expertise, with foundational knowledge and specialized training that emphasizes protecting operational technology, distributed energy resources and other topics.
“We are going to meet them where they are,” said Adrian McNamara, NRECA principal cybersecurity program manager.
“We are scaling SPARK trainings to match any level of understanding of cybersecurity within the co-op—not just the IT professional, but anyone who wants to get further training and understanding of their own role in cybersecurity at the co-op.”
NRECA is developing SPARK with a $2 million grant from the Department of Energy’s Rural and Municipal Utility Advanced Cybersecurity (RMUC) program.
NRECA plans to launch SPARK during the first quarter of 2027 and continue training sessions through June 2029. Co-ops are encouraged to express interest in the program by Sept. 21.
More than 200 co-op employees have already signed up, including Delaware Electric Cooperative’s Ben Galvacky.
“You don’t know what you don’t know, and SPARK will help bridge that gap,” said Galvacky, information security manager at the Greenwood-based co-op. “This serves an educational need, and it pays dividends to hardening a cybersecurity program, driving up maturity and building cyber leaders.”
Most SPARK training will be online, but two in-person sessions will take place, potentially at national NRECA events like TechAdvantage or the Co-op Cyber Tech conference to reduce travel burdens for participating co-ops, McNamara said.
SPARK joins NRECA’s growing fleet of cybersecurity offerings, which include broad workforce initiatives through Project Guardian, tabletop exercises and NRECA’s Co-op Cyber Goals.
“SPARK will augment other NRECA initiatives by allowing us to provide training to help increase co-op employees’ skills and understanding of cybersecurity,” said McNamara. “SPARK is about boosting staff knowledge and understanding to reinforce the overall cybersecurity posture of the cooperative landscape.”
