US President Donald Trump on May 15 signed an executive order declaring a national emergency due to security risks related to foreign-made equipment used in the national power grid.
The order restricts the purchase and installation of certain foreign-manufactured equipment for large-scale power systems. The document cites an "unusual and extraordinary foreign threat" from foreign equipment systems, asserting they could create vulnerabilities for US national security.
The ban targets certain large-scale power system equipment as well as associated software and digital features, which the administration describes as potentially posing cybersecurity or operational risks.
The US Department of Energy has 120 days to issue formal regulations implementing the policy. Meanwhile, experts are watching utility companies face the massive task of cataloging equipment identified under the President's order.
"Blocking new purchases is the easy part. Knowing what is currently running is where the real work begins," John Bruggeman, virtual chief information security officer at telecommunications company CBTS, told Al Jazeera. "Utility companies using foreign equipment in the power grid... will have a compliance clock starting today."
The move is the White House's latest effort to address potential security threats from abroad to the power grid. Last year, US experts reported discovering undisclosed communication capabilities in some Chinese solar inverters. In July, the US Federal Communications Commission banned all newly imported inverters designed with remote communication capabilities operating in utility grids.
However, the order does not ban all foreign equipment used in US power systems. Energy Secretary Chris Wright has been tasked with establishing conditions for the continued use and operation of affected equipment.
"The order creates the authority to act," Michael Centrella at cybersecurity firm SecurityScorecard told Al Jazeera. "The next difficult step is giving operators the ability to see which assets and supplier relationships pose the highest risk without disrupting the reliability of the power system."
