Infrastructure Briefing — Executive Order 13920 on bulk-power system security
Executive Order 13920 declares a national emergency over foreign-supplied bulk-power equipment, prohibiting risky transactions and directing DOE to pre-qualify trusted vendors while forming a federal task force for energy procurement.
Executive briefing: EO 13920 bans new acquisitions of bulk-power system equipment tied to foreign adversaries when the Secretary of Energy deems the transaction an unacceptable sabotage or reliability risk. Utilities, ISOs, and grid technology suppliers must accelerate component provenance mapping, procurement controls, and remediation plans for high-voltage gear across transmission, generation, and control rooms.
Grid operator checklist
- Inventory critical assets. Document transformers, relays, turbines, and ICS platforms subject to the order’s 69 kV-plus definition and flag foreign supply chain exposure.
- Integrate DOE review points. Update sourcing playbooks so legal, procurement, and engineering teams know when Secretary of Energy mitigation agreements or task force criteria apply.
- Plan for replacements. Build budgets and outage schedules for retrofits once DOE identifies equipment that “poses an undue risk” and mandates isolation, monitoring, or retirement.
Source excerpts
Primary — National emergency: “Foreign adversaries are increasingly creating and exploiting vulnerabilities in the United States bulk-power system… I therefore determine that the unrestricted foreign supply of bulk-power system electric equipment constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security… In light of these findings, I hereby declare a national emergency.”
Executive Order on Securing the United States Bulk-Power System
Primary — Transaction ban: “Any acquisition, importation, transfer, or installation of any bulk-power system electric equipment… is prohibited” when DOE determines the gear is linked to a foreign adversary and “poses an undue risk of sabotage… catastrophic effects… or an unacceptable risk to the national security.”
Executive Order on Securing the United States Bulk-Power System
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