[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 76 (Thursday, April 22, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21308-21309]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-08483]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Revocation of Prohibition Order Securing Critical Defense
Facilities
AGENCY: Office of Electricity, Department of Energy.
ACTION: Revocation of prohibition order.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE or Department) gives notice
that the Prohibition Order Securing Critical Defense Facilities, dated
December 17, 2020 (December 2020 Prohibition Order), is revoked.
DATES: The effective date of the revocation of the December 2020
Prohibition Order is April 20, 2021.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patricia A. Hoffman, Acting Assistant
Secretary, Office of Electricity, U.S. Department of Energy, Mailstop
OE-20, Room 8G-042, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585;
(202) 586-1411, or [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Nation's energy infrastructure supports
our national defense, critical infrastructure, economy, and way of
life. Adversarial nation-state actors are targeting our critical
infrastructure, with increasing focus on the energy sector. The
Department is engaged in partnership with the electricity subsector and
other Federal agencies, in a comprehensive set of actions to strengthen
supply chain risk management and recognizes the threat our foreign
adversaries pose to our critical infrastructure.
In order to build on the work the Department has already completed
in securing the electric system, the Department is developing
recommendations to strengthen requirements and capabilities for supply
chain risk management practices by the Nation's electric utilities.
These recommendations are intended to enable an approach that builds
on, clarifies, and, where appropriate, modifies prior executive and
agency actions.
[[Page 21309]]
Executive Order 13920, Securing the United States Bulk-Power
System, (E.O. 13920),\1\ issued on May 1, 2020, declared an emergency
that authorized the Secretary of Energy (Secretary) to, among other
actions, prohibit the acquisition, transfer, or installation of certain
BPS electric equipment sourced from foreign adversary countries for one
year.\2\ On December 17, 2020, the Secretary issued the December 2020
Prohibition Order, which took effect January 16, 2021, invoking the
authority of E.O. 13920.\3\ Pursuant to the December 2020 Prohibition
Order, a limited number of utilities \4\ were prohibited from
acquiring, importing, transferring, or installing certain BPS electric
equipment.\5\ That order targeted select equipment manufactured or
supplied by persons owned by, controlled by, or subject to the
jurisdiction or direction of the People's Republic of China.\6\
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\1\ Executive Order 13920, Securing the United States Bulk-Power
System: Request for Information, 85 FR 26595 (May 4, 2020).
\2\ Id. at 26595-26596.
\3\ Prohibition Order Securing Critical Defense Facilities, 86
FR 533 (Jan. 6, 2021).
\4\ The December 2020 Prohibition Order defined ``Responsible
Utility'' as ``an electric utility that owns or operates Defense
Critical Electric Infrastructure (DCEI), as defined by section
215A(a)(4) of the Federal Power Act (FPA), that actively serves a
CDF, as designated by the Secretary under section 215A(c) of the
FPA.'' Id. at 534.
\5\ Id.
\6\ Id.
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On January 20, 2021, Executive Order 13990, Protecting Public
Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate
Crisis (E.O. 13990), was issued, which suspended E.O. 13920 for 90 days
and directed the Secretary of Energy and the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget jointly to ``consider whether to recommend that a
replacement order be issued.'' \7\ As the December 2020 Prohibition
Order is predicated on the authorities delegated to DOE by E.O. 13920,
the December 2020 Prohibition Order was also suspended during the same
time period.
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\7\ Executive Order 13990, Protecting Public Health and the
Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis,
Sec. 7(c), 86 FR 7037, 7042 (Jan. 25, 2021).
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The Department is revoking the December 2020 Prohibition Order
effective April 20, 2021, in order to create a stable policy
environment before the emergency declaration made by E.O. 13920 expires
on May 1, 2021, and while the Department conducts a Request for
Information to develop a strengthened and administrable strategy to
address the security of the U.S. energy sector.
Signing Authority
This document of the Department of Energy was signed on April 19,
2021, by Jennifer Granholm, Secretary of Energy. That document with the
original signature and date is maintained by DOE. For administrative
purposes only, and in compliance with requirements of the Office of the
Federal Register, the undersigned DOE Federal Register Liaison Officer
has been authorized to sign and submit the document in electronic
format for publication, as an official document of the Department of
Energy. This administrative process in no way alters the legal effect
of this document upon publication in the Federal Register.
Signed in Washington, DC, on April 20, 2021.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2021-08483 Filed 4-21-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P