Senators urge DOE, DHS to ban inverters made by Huawei

A bipartisan group of senators recently sent a letter to Energy Secretary Rick Perry and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen urging them ban the use of inverters made by the Chinese-owned company, Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd, citing cybersecurity concerns.

“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,” the senators wrote. “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.”

The senators who sent the letter included U.S. Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX), Richard Burr (R-NC), Mark Warner (D-VA), Jim Risch (R-ID), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Marco Rubio (R-FL),  Tom Cotton (R-AR), Angus King (I-ME), Susan Collins (R-ME), Ben Sasse (R-NE) and Mitt Romney (R-UT).

“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,” the senators wrote. “We stand ready and willing to provide any assistance you need to secure our critical electricity infrastructure.”