The U.S. Department of Energy has issued a Prohibition Order prohibiting the acquisition, importation, transfer, or installation of certain bulk-power system electric equipment that directly serves Critical Defense Facilities. The order follows an Executive Order signed by President Trump earlier this year, authorizing the Department to take steps to secure the nation's bulk-power system.
On May 1, 2020, President Trump signed Executive Order 13920, "Securing the United States Bulk-Power System". As described in a press release, that Executive Order "prohibits Federal agencies and U.S. persons from acquiring, transferring, or installing BPS equipment in which any foreign country or foreign national has any interest and the transaction poses an unacceptable risk to national security or the security and safety of American citizens."
On December 17, U.S. Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette signed a Prohibition Order implementing EO 13920. As described by the Department, "The order applies to a limited number of utilities and specific BPS electric equipment from the People’s Republic of China that poses an undue risk to the BPS, the security or resilience of critical infrastructure, the economy, national security, or safety and security of Americans."
The Department further described its “Prohibition Order Securing Critical Defense Facilities” generally as prohibiting covered utilities that supply Critical Defense Facilities ("CDFs") at a service voltage of 69kV or above from acquiring, importing, transferring, or installing certain BPS electric equipment manufactured or supplied by persons owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of the People’s Republic of China.
According to the Prohibition Order, "certain BPS electric equipment or programmable components subject to China’s ownership, control, or influence, constitute undue risk to the security of the BPS and to U.S. national security." The order applies from the point of electrical interconnection with the CDF up to and including the next “upstream” transmission substation.
According to the order, utilities subject to its requirements will be notified no later than 5 days from the order's issuance.
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