Forge Institute Awarded U.S. Department of Energy Funding to Launch the Secure Energy Defenders Program, a $2M program to Strengthen Cybersecurity for Arkansas Rural and Municipal Electric Utilities
Delivered in partnership with Idaho National Laboratory (INL), the program will provide free cybersecurity training, technical assistance, and threat intelligence to specific Arkansas electric utilities over two years.
Foreign adversaries are increasingly targeting the power grids, water systems, and local infrastructure communities rely on every day — not through traditional military means, but through cyberattacks aimed at systems that are often under-resourced and locally run. These threats are accelerating: artificial intelligence is lowering the barrier to entry for attackers, automating reconnaissance, and enabling more convincing social engineering at a scale and speed utilities have never had to defend against before. Rural and municipal electric utilities, which power much of Arkansas, are exactly this kind of target: critical to daily life, and rarely equipped with the same cybersecurity resources as major metropolitan utilities.
Forge Institute today announced the launch of the Secure Energy Defenders Program (SEDP), a two-year initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Energy under its Rural and Municipal Utility Cybersecurity (RMUC) Program (Award No. DE-CR0000113) and delivered in partnership with Idaho National Laboratory (INL), the federal laboratory that leads the nation in industrial control systems (ICS) and operational technology (OT) cybersecurity. SEDP will provide specific Arkansas rural and municipal electric utilities with a fully funded path to a stronger cybersecurity posture — at no cost to participants.
Forge Institute is a non-profit “do-tank” that trains cyber defenders, accelerates new defense technology, and helps protect America's critical infrastructure. We unite the military, government, and private businesses to build capabilities to out-pace foreign threats. The outcome is a more secure nation, which matters because enemies are actively trying to disrupt America through grey-zone warfare operations.
“Rural and municipal utilities are on the front lines of a threat most of the country never sees — and they've been asked to defend against nation-state-level adversaries with a fraction of the resources. The Secure Energy Defenders Program helps close that gap. This is exactly why Forge exists: to bring national-grade expertise and federal resources to the communities that could never access it alone, and to help build resilience to ensure our communities stay one step ahead.” — Lee Watson, Chairman & CEO, Forge Institute
SEDP takes an assessment-led approach: each participating utility first receives a no-cost cybersecurity needs assessment, which becomes the basis for a tailored roadmap of training and technical assistance built around that utility's actual staffing, systems, and priorities. From there, the program delivers:
Tiered training for every level of a utility's workforce — foundational cyber hygiene for general staff, risk and decision-making content for leadership (including board members), and deep technical training in industrial control systems for technical staff.
Hands-on technical assistance, including tabletop exercises, incident response planning, OT sensor placement strategy, and supply chain risk reviews.
Direct access to Idaho National Laboratory's cybersecurity expertise, backed by more than 2,000 hours of dedicated INL analyst time committed to the program.
Ongoing threat intelligence and peer information sharing through Forge's Emerging Threat Center (ETC).
“Our utilities already do the hard work of keeping Arkansas' lights on every day; our job is to make that work easier to defend. By bringing this cohort together under one federally funded program and handling the grant administration, we're able to bring national-grade cybersecurity support directly to the communities that need it most, at no cost to them.” —- Tom Flak, Director of Cyber Programs, Forge Institute
"INL brings decades of frontline expertise in industrial control systems and operational technology security, the exact technology that runs the substations and grid controls utilities depend on every day," said Emma Stewart, Chief Power Grid Scientist, Idaho National Laboratory. "Through SEDP, we're committing more than 2,000 hours of our analysts' time directly to Arkansas's munis and co-ops — conducting hands-on assessments, building tailored roadmaps, and working side-by-side with utility staff to bolster their cybersecurity posture." —- Dr. Emma Stewart, Chief Power Grid Scientist, Idaho National Laboratory
“Securing our electric grid is vital for our national and our state’s security, ensuring that we have a strong and resilient grid that will withstand cyberattacks,” said Arkansas Secretary of Commerce Hugh McDonald. “The new Secure Energy Defenders Program will be an important program for our state’s electric cooperatives and municipal utilities, providing valuable training and technical assistance through the Forge Institute. We thank the Forge Institute, Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation, and municipal utilities for their partnership and their important work to secure the electric grid in Arkansas.” —- Hugh T. McDonald, Secretary, Arkansas Department of Commerce
SEDP is one part of Forge Institute's broader mission to connect national-grade expertise and federal resources to the communities and industries that operate America's critical infrastructure and economic security. The program builds directly on Forge's existing work across cybersecurity workforce development and critical infrastructure resiliency in the region.
Participating utilities were identified through Forge's original application to DOE and are being onboarded on a rolling basis throughout 2026. Forge anticipates limited additional capacity for utilities beyond the initial cohort; interested utilities can contact Forge Institute to learn more.
Visit www.forge.institute/sedp to learn more about the Secure Energy Defenders Program.
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Key Facts
The Secure Energy Defenders Program (SEDP) is a two-year program (August 2026–August 2028) funded by the U.S. Department of Energy under the Rural and Municipal Utility Cybersecurity (RMUC) Program, Award No. DE-CR0000113.
SEDP is delivered by Forge Institute in partnership with Idaho National Laboratory (INL).
The program provides free cybersecurity needs assessments, tiered training, hands-on technical assistance, and threat-intelligence sharing to participating Arkansas rural and municipal electric utilities.
There is no cost to participating utilities — SEDP is fully funded by DOE.
Federal Funding Acknowledgement and Disclaimer
This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) under the Rural and Municipal Utility Cybersecurity (RMUC) Program, Secure Energy Defenders Program (SEDP), award Number DE-CR0000113.
This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof.
