Chinese energy technologies face further pressure as US declares emergency

The administration of US President Donald Trump this week declared a national emergency that allows it to restrict the use of certain foreign equipment in the US electricity grid. The White House justified the move by citing an “unusual and extraordinary foreign threat” posed by equipment used in transmission systems. The European Union has also moved in a similar direction this year, restricting public funding for projects using inverters from suppliers considered high-risk, while in Czechia, the National Cyber and Information Security Agency (NÚKIB) last year warned of security risks linked to Chinese technologies and their remote management.

The Trump administration's order generally prohibits the purchase or installation of certain foreign equipment intended for electricity transmission systems, including related critical software and digital functions that could pose cyber or operational risks.

For transactions involving foreign entities that pose risks such as sabotage, unauthorised access or disruption to critical infrastructure operations, the government may also impose additional conditions. The measure does not apply to equipment used for local electricity distribution.

The order also gives the energy secretary the authority to restrict or impose conditions on the continued operation of equipment already installed, while taking into account impacts on supply reliability and security, the availability of replacement equipment and operational continuity. The Department of Energy must now prepare rules to put the individual provisions into practice and identify specific technologies posing these risks.

Trump's decision follows a fairly clear trend: energy infrastructure is becoming the subject of security measures targeting foreign technologies. The White House explicitly speaks of preventing foreign actors from paralysing critical infrastructure, although it does not name specific countries from which the potential threat originates.

In light of the US president's previous actions, it can be assumed that the order is aimed primarily at China. In June this year, the Trump administration was preparing a ban on imports of foreign inverters, which connect solar power plants and batteries to the electricity grid. According to Reuters, it did so out of concern that China could use them to disrupt electricity supplies.

The Chinese embassy in Washington objected to the claim, saying it “firmly opposes the excessive expansion of the concept of national security and the unwarranted suppression of Chinese companies”, adding that the US should provide Chinese firms with a “fair, equal and non-discriminatory environment”.

European and Czech context

Similar concerns have emerged in Europe in recent months. This year, the European Union adopted measures targeting risks associated with certain foreign suppliers of inverters, which are a key component of solar power plants and battery storage facilities.

The new rules restrict public funding for projects using inverters from suppliers considered high-risk. The main reasons are concerns about possible remote access to the equipment and the potential compromise of the security of European energy infrastructure.

The European approach is therefore similar in some respects to the US one, although it uses a different mechanism. While Washington, by declaring a national emergency, gains the power to restrict the purchase, installation and, under certain conditions, continued operation of risky equipment in the bulk power transmission system, the European Union relies primarily on public funding rules.

The common denominator, however, is an effort to prevent equipment connected to the electricity grid from being misused for sabotage, unauthorised access or other disruption to its operation.

The Czech National Cyber and Information Security Agency (NÚKIB) has also highlighted risks associated with foreign technologies. Last year, it warned of the security risks posed by Chinese inverters used in the energy sector, particularly in connection with the possibility of their remote management.

For equipment connected to the electricity grid, this approach is concerned not only with its functionality, but also with who can gain remote access to it and how that access can be used.

With the growing digitalisation of the energy sector and the increasing number of devices connected to the grid, the question of the origin of technologies, their software and the possibility of remote control is likely to become increasingly important.