President Trump issued Executive Order 14420 on Wednesday, declaring a national emergency to mitigate vulnerabilities in the United States’ bulk power system arising from foreign-supplied electrical equipment.
The order attributes the heightened emergency status to rapid growth across data centers, AI, advanced manufacturing, and defense production.
Officials noted that dependence on grid reliability magnifies the impact of foreign supply chain disruptions or targeted attacks that exploit built-in backdoors for remote access.
The order covers critical infrastructure operating bulk-power system transmission lines rated at 69 kilovolts or higher, while explicitly excluding local electricity distribution facilities.
Targeted technologies include transformers, inverters, energy storage systems, and industrial control systems (ICS), such as remote terminal units (RTUs), programmable logic controllers (PLCs), and safety systems. The order also covers associated firmware, software, and remote access capabilities.