Trump ban on foreign grid components sparks industry concern over cost, practicality

Utility Dive · Herman K. Trabish · 2026-11-04 11:41 UTC

Stakeholders applauded the order’s intent to secure the grid but said restrictions based on geography, rather than function and capability, miss the point and threaten investment.

President Donald Trump’s recent executive order seeking to protect the bulk power system from foreign threats correctly identifies the risk of U.S. reliance on outside suppliers, but mitigating those risks without stalling the grid’s buildout or saddling ratepayers with even more costs will be tricky, stakeholders told Utility Dive.

Executive Order 14421, issued Aug. 26, gives Secretary of Energy Chris Wright the power to block the installation of foreign-produced equipment – “or any critical component, software, firmware, digital service, maintenance service, or remote-access capability associated with such equipment” – that poses an “undue risk” to national security, either through intentional sabotage or supply chain disruption.

It also gave the secretary the authority to order the removal and replacement of previously installed equipment.

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