Thomas Mullooly Comments on Executive Order Restricting Electrical Grid Equipment Imports

Foley & Lardner LLP of counsel Thomas Mullooly assessed a recent presidential executive order restricting imports of electricity grid equipment in the Law360 article, “Trump Foreign Equipment Order Perplexes Power Cos.“

The order, issued on August 26, 2026, invokes the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (NEA), and section 301 of title 3 of the United States Code in declaring that the foreign supply of bulk-power system electric equipment presents an unusual and extraordinary threat to U.S. national security, foreign policy, and the economy.

“They’ll need to determine whether any planned equipment could be affected by the order,” Mullooly, chair of Foley’s Energy Regulatory Practice, said of how the executive order could impact data center developers. “The order could also complicate or lengthen utility interconnection processes, creating additional challenges for project development.”

For a deeper discussion of the executive order, its implications, and steps utilities, project developers, and equipment suppliers should take in response, click to read Foley’s Energy Current.