Romney Joins Colleagues in Urging DHS, DOE to Ban Use of Huawei Technology in U.S. Infrastructure

WASHINGTON—Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) joined a bipartisan group of colleagues in urging Secretary of Energy Rick Perry and Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen to consider banning the use of Huawei solar inverters in our nation’s energy infrastructure—further protecting critical U.S. electrical systems. This action follows previous congressional actions prohibiting Huawei telecommunications equipment from being used by the U.S. federal government and federal contractors.
 
Also signing the letter were Senators Richard Burr (R-NC), Susan Collins (R-ME), John Cornyn (R-TX), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Angus King (I-ME), Jim Risch (R-ID), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Ben Sasse (R-NE), and Mark Warner (D-VA).
 
The signed letter is here, and full text is below.
  
February 25, 2019
 
Dear Secretaries Perry and Nielsen:
 
We write to express our concern over the national security threat products manufactured by Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei) pose to our nation’s critical energy infrastructure.  We understand that Huawei, the world’s largest manufacturer of solar inverters, is attempting to access our domestic residential and commercial markets.  Congress recently acted to block Huawei from our telecommunications equipment market due to concerns with the company’s links to China’s intelligence services.  We urge similar action to protect critical U.S. electrical systems and infrastructure.
 
Huawei has recently become the world’s largest maker of inverters – the sophisticated control systems that have allowed the rapid expansion of residential and utility scale energy production.  Both large-scale photovoltaic systems and those used by homeowners, school districts, and businesses are equally vulnerable to cyberattacks.  Our federal government should consider a ban on the use of Huawei inverters in the United States and work with state and local regulators to raise awareness and mitigate potential threats.
 
We urge you to work with all federal, state and local regulators, as well as the hundreds of independent power producers and electricity distributors nation-wide to ensure our systems are protected.  We stand ready and willing to provide any assistance you need to secure our critical electricity infrastructure. 
 
Thank you for your attention to this important matter of national security.