The White House issued an executive order on Thursday declaring a national emergency over the supply of large-scale electrical equipment for power systems, restricting imports of gear with capacity of 69kV or higher.
The measure grants authorities to prohibit the import or installation of equipment or software designed, developed, manufactured, or supplied by entities controlled by, owned by, or subject to the jurisdiction of a covered foreign entity if deemed to pose an undue risk to grid integrity or U.S. security. Affected categories include transformers, inverters, UPS systems, circuit breakers, generators, turbines, battery energy storage systems, and control systems such as programmable logic controllers.
Citi analysts characterized the order as effectively targeting Chinese suppliers, noting it would limit their ability to enter or expand in the U.S. market. The restrictions could help other players defend market share and support pricing power, as Asian firms—including Chinese suppliers—had previously gained traction in the U.S. due to faster delivery capabilities.
For Siemens Energy, the policy is viewed as moderately positive. The company relies on imports to meet U.S. transformer demand and does not consider China a significant supply source for transformers. Siemens Energy’s new factory in Charlotte, North Carolina, is not expected to begin delivering large transformers until late 2027.
The restrictions could also benefit Wärtsilä’s storage joint venture by reducing competitive pressure from Chinese battery energy storage system suppliers, analysts said.
