The four MAGS are: Analytics, Resiliency and Reliability; Distributed Energy Resources; Generation; and Cybersecurity. Each MAG has 20 to 40 members, drawn from co-ops around the country, who serve two to four years in a volunteer capacity.

Expertise in each MAG's area of focus is the primary criteria for participation, but diversity of region and co-op size and type is also a goal.

“We want to have a healthy mix of representation, essentially a microcosm of all the co-ops out there," says Venkat Banunarayanan, NRECA vice president for integrated grid.

The committees meet twice a year in person and a couple more times online. They also participate in webinars and conferences, building stronger co-op communities in each area. Members of the Cybersecurity MAG, for example, share their knowledge and experiences during peer-to-peer sessions at NRECA's annual Co-op Cyber Tech conference, says Ryan Newlon, NRECA principal, cybersecurity solutions.

The MAGS can also serve as creative engines for new approaches to problems. MAG brainstorming, Newlon says, helped lead to “Backdoors & Breaches," a card and dice game by Black Hills Technology in which co-ops can conduct table-top security exercises, with players, known as “defenders," working to identify the route hackers used to get into a system.

Gamifying cybersecurity is an unexpected way to tackle a serious challenge, but Newlon says it's just one example of how MAGS provide inspiration and direction “as we continue to build solutions for co-ops."