McGuireWoods partner Bernard McNamee, a former Commissioner on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, provided insights to Law360 for a Sept. 2, 2026, article in about how the U.S. power industry is interpreting a new executive order restricting imports of equipment used for the nation’s energy grid.
The Aug. 26, 2026, executive order bars acquisition, importation, transfer, or installation of electrical equipment linked to roughly two dozen countries—most prominently China—that pose potential threats to the U.S. bulk power system and national security. Power companies are wrestling with how the order will be implemented, including whether it applies to equipment already installed, Law360 reported.
McNamee, also a McGuireWoods Consulting senior advisor, told Law360 that the order contains some ambiguity. While it suggests the restrictions will only apply to transactions initiated after the order was issued, “there’s some language saying that notwithstanding, it could apply to contracts already made,” McNamee said.
Another issue is whether higher costs to power systems could travel downstream to utility regulators and grid operators.
“You know things are going to cost money, and you know the reason that this is being done is presumably for the security of the grid, which benefits everybody,” McNamee told Law360.
He added, “But it’s going to have to get worked through about who pays, to what extent costs get allocated. Does the government have to pay? Is it a taking?”
McNamee and McGuireWoods colleagues in the firm’s Energy Infrastructure Practice Group provided a detailed analysis of the executive order in an Aug. 28, 2026, legal alert.