Trump Declares Emergency and Restricts Foreign Equipment in US Power Grid Over Security Concerns

President Donald Trump has declared a national emergency, pointing to security risks associated with foreign-made equipment utilized within the US electricity grid.

On Wednesday, Trump signed an executive order limiting the acquisition and installation of specific foreign-produced components for the bulk-power system. The directive points to an unusual and extraordinary foreign threat originating from foreign-made systems, warning that they could introduce vulnerabilities to US national security.

The measure focuses on designated bulk-power system hardware, alongside associated software and digital features that the administration warns could present operational or cybersecurity risks.

The Department of Energy has been given a 120-day window to issue formal regulations enforcing the policy. Meanwhile, industry experts are closely monitoring utility companies, which now face the complex challenge of auditing their infrastructure for flagged equipment.

"Blocking new purchases is the easy part. Knowing what’s already running is where the real work starts," John Bruggeman, virtual chief information security officer at CBTS, told Al Jazeera. "Utilities running foreign-sourced grid equipment … have a live compliance clock starting today."

This action represents the latest initiative by the White House to mitigate potential foreign security threats targeting the electrical grid. Previously, US experts documented instances of undisclosed communication devices discovered inside certain Chinese solar power inverters. Furthermore, the Federal Communications Commission banned all new foreign-manufactured power inverters featuring remote communication capabilities that operate within the electric utility grid last July.

Despite these measures, the order does not institute a complete ban on all foreign-made equipment operating within the US energy network. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright has been tasked with defining conditions under which affected equipment may continue to be used and operated.

"The executive order establishes the authority to act," Michael Centrella of SecurityScorecard told Al Jazeera. "The difficult next step will be giving operators scalable, independent visibility into which assets and vendor relationships present the greatest risk without disrupting the reliability of the power system."