NRECA and the U.S. Coast Guard signed an agreement Aug. 24 to improve communication and coordination around energy reliability and resilience for Coast Guard stations served by electric cooperatives.

More than 140 co-ops serve military and Coast Guard facilities across the U.S., supporting both day-to-day operations and emergency responses.

The new memorandum of understanding (MOU) will enhance that relationship, finding ways to reduce energy vulnerabilities and strengthen operational capabilities for Coast Guard sites while improving electric service for surrounding communities.

“The U.S. Coast Guard has been a terrific partner to electric cooperatives, both helping solve local energy challenges and finding ways to enhance grid resilience,” NRECA Chief Operating Officer Jeffrey Connor said. “Through the agreement, we can aggressively explore options to invest in electric reliability for both the Coast Guard and the communities served by electric co-ops across the country.”

The MOU, which sprang from a series of Regional Defense Summits that NRECA launched last year, calls for the creation of a pilot program involving one or more Coast Guard stations and the co-ops serving them. The program will seek to identify potential communications gaps and how to address them; align the energy resilience goals of co-ops, the Coast Guard and nearby communities; and optimize future investments around grid and community resilience and national security.

NRECA will help select participating co-ops and convene meetings with the Coast Guard and other stakeholders on work plans and progress under the MOU.

Kodiak Electric Association on Kodiak Island, Alaska, has already been tapped to participate, with the co-op working with the nearby Coast Guard base on a new utility energy service contract that includes energy conservation measures and other upgrades.

Both NRECA and the Coast Guard will create documents on lessons learned and potential opportunities to improve reliability and resilience issues, which will be distributed to NRECA members and relevant Coast Guard leadership.

“The most valuable aspect of this relationship is the broadly innovative approach we bring to focus on local solutions,” Connor said. “It’s what makes electric co-ops such important leaders to have at the table.”

Resilient energy infrastructure supports both mission readiness for the Coast Guard and reliable electric service for co-op members, said Lauren Khair, NRECA senior director of energy research and resilience.

The new agreement “gives us a framework to turn that shared interest into action—and through the pilot, an opportunity to learn together, strengthen our respective organizations, and build a model for future collaboration.”