BLUF: DOE opened a 30-day comment period on rules restricting foreign-made bulk-power equipment, with FAR revisions to follow.

The Department of Energy on September 9, 2026 published a request for information (RFI) asking industry to weigh in on how the agency should implement an August 26, 2026 executive order declaring a national emergency over risks to the U.S. bulk-power system from foreign-produced electric equipment. The notice, filed under docket DOE-2026-HQ-2026-1123, was published in the Federal Register at 91 FR 57322. It is a Notice-type RFI, not a proposed rule, meaning no regulatory text has been issued yet.

Why it matters: The underlying executive order directs DOE to recommend revisions to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) prioritizing U.S.-manufactured energy infrastructure and requiring national-security risk review in federal energy procurements. Contractors selling transformers, inverters, batteries, control software, or remote-access services into the bulk-power system — to federal agencies or federally regulated utilities — should treat this comment period as the first chance to shape vendor-qualification and supply-chain-disclosure standards before they become binding. DOE is also collecting input on licensing, prequalification, and domestic manufacturing capacity, which typically foreshadow future sourcing preferences in agency solicitations.

By the numbers:

• October 9, 2026 — deadline to submit written comments on the RFI
• September 16, 2026 — DOE public webinar on the RFI, 3 to 4 p.m. EDT
• 120 days — window from the executive order's August 26, 2026 signing for DOE to publish implementing rules
• 180 days — window for DOE to submit recommended FAR revisions to the FAR Council
• 91 FR 57322 — official Federal Register citation for the RFI

The RFI asks for input across eight specific areas: the scope of covered equipment and transactions; risks tied to "Covered Foreign Entities" and foreign-produced bulk-power equipment; supply chain, software, firmware, digital-service, maintenance, and remote-access practices; existing equipment and potential mitigation; licensing and prequalification; domestic manufacturing and secure replacement capacity; federal procurement; and economic, reliability, safety, and small-entity impacts.

DOE has not yet released proposed regulatory text. Firms wanting to influence the eventual FAR language have until October 9 to submit comments, and can register to attend the September 16 webinar for additional context on the department's approach.

Source: Federal Register