Lawmakers Warn About Huawei Joining U.S. Energy Infrastructure

Senator Marco Rubio, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is slamming Chinese telecommunications company Huawei while endorsing Senator John Cornyn’s call to not allow the company to work in the United States’ energy infrastructure.

In a bipartisan effort with other senators, the group directed a letter to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and Rick Perry, the U.S. Secretary of Energy, to warn about the effects of Huawei's involvement.

In the letter, the lawmakers discussed “the national security threat products manufactured by Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. pose to our nation’s critical energy infrastructure.”

“We understand that Huawei, the world’s largest manufacturer of solar inverters, is attempting to access our domestic residential and commercial markets.  Congress recently acted to block Huawei from our telecommunications equipment market due to concerns with the company’s links to China’s intelligence services. We urge similar action to protect critical U.S. electrical systems and infrastructure,” the lawmakers added.

They explained that “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. 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.”

And, they concluded, detailing that they wished to see Perry and Nielsen “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. We stand ready and willing to provide any assistance you need to secure our critical electricity infrastructure. Thank you for your attention to this important matter of national security.”