US Department of Energy revokes ban on Chinese electrical equipment

by Apr 20, 2021

The US Department of Energy has reversed former President Trump’s ban on the import of certain electrical equipment from China including power transformers. The announcement comes as part of a push to increase electrical grid security.
China is one of the world’s major manufacturers of electrical grid equipment, and energy regulators cite the need to modernize equipment as part of the reason why the ban was reversed.
The ban on Chinese electrical equipment began in December 2020, just one month before Trump was due to leave office, when the Department of Energy issued a prohibition order on such equipment. The order was authorized by Donald Trump last May when he signed Executive Order 13920, which declared emergency over the state of the power grid to prevent cyberattacks, especially from state-sponsored hackers abroad.
While the Department of Energy’s reversal does enable utility companies to purchase electrical equipment from Chinese manufacturers, the department recommends caution when purchasing this equipment.
The lifting of this ban comes at the right time for approx. 220 Chinese OEMs operating in the US market to enable them to target Biden’s $2 trillion stimulus package aimed at reenergizing US Power Grid.  Link to the news: https://www.energy.gov/oe/securing-critical-electric-infrastructure