(a) Authority. Pursuant to section 10(e) of the Federal Power Act and section 3401 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986, the Commission will assess reasonable annual charges against licensees and exemptees to reimburse the United States for the costs of administration of the Commission's hydropower regulatory program.

(b) Scope. The annual charges under this section will be charged to and allocated among:

(1) All licensees of projects of more than 1.5 megawatts of installed capacity; and

(2) All holders of exemptions under either section 30 of the Federal Power Act or sections 405 and 408 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978, as amended by section 408 of the Energy Security Act of 1980, but only if the exemption was issued subsequent to April 21, 1995 and is for a project of more than 1.5 megawatts of installed capacity.

(3) If the exemption for a project of more than 1.5 megawatts of installed capacity was issued subsequent to April 21, 1995 but pursuant to an application filed prior to that date, the exemptee may credit against its annual charge any filing fee paid pursuant to §381.601 of this chapter, which was removed effective April 21, 1995, 18 CFR 381.601 (1994), until the total of all such credits equals the filing fee that was paid.

(c) Licenses and exemptions other than State or municipal. For licensees and exemptees, other than State or municipal:

(1) A determination shall be made for each fiscal year of the costs of administration of Part I of the Federal Power Act chargeable to such licensees or exemptees, from which shall be deducted any administrative costs that are stated in the license or exemption or fixed by the Commission in determining headwater benefit payments.

(2) For each fiscal year the costs of administration determined under paragraph (c)(1) of this section will be assessed against such licenses or exemptee in the proportion that the annual charge factor for each such project bears to the total of the annual charge factors under all such outstanding licenses and exemptions.

(3) The annual charge factor for each such project shall be found as follows:

(i) For a conventional project the factor is its authorized installed capacity plus 112.5 times its annual energy output in millions of kilowatt-hours.

(ii) For a pure pumped storage project the factor is its authorized installed capacity.

(iii) For a mixed conventional-pumped storage project the factor is its authorized installed capacity plus 112.5 times its gross annual energy output in millions of kilowatt-hours less 75 times the annual energy used for pumped storage pumping in million of kilowatt-hours.

(iv) For purposes of determining their annual charges factor, projects that are operated pursuant to an exemption will be deemed to have an annual energy output of zero.

(4) To enable the Commission to determine such charges annually, each licensee whose authorized installed capacity exceeds 1.5 megawatts must file with the Commission, on or before November 1 of each year, a statement under oath showing the gross amount of power generated (or produced by nonelectrical equipment) and the amount of power used for pumped storage pumping by the project during the preceding fiscal year, expressed in kilowatt hours. If any licensee does not report the gross energy output of its project within the time specified above, the Commission's staff will estimate the energy output and this estimate may be used in lieu of the filings required by this section made by such licensee after November 1.

(5) For unconstructed projects, the assessments begin on the date by which the licensee or exemptee is required to commence project construction, or as that deadline may be extended. For constructed projects, the assessments begin on the effective date of the license or exemption, except for any new capacity authorized therein. The assessments for new authorized capacity at licensed or exempted projects begin on the date by which the licensee or exemptee is required to commence construction of the new capacity. In the event that assessments begin during a fiscal year, the charges will be prorated.

(d) State and municipal licensees and exemptees. For State or municipal licensees and exemptees:

(1) A determination shall be made for each fiscal year of the cost of administration under Part I of the Federal Power Act chargeable to such licensees and exemptees, from which shall be deducted any administrative costs that are stated in the license or exemption or that are fixed by the Commission in determining headwater benefit payments.

(2) An exemption will be granted to a licensee or exemptee to the extent, if any, to which it may be entitled under section 10(e) of the Act provided the data is submitted as requested in paragraphs (d) (4) and (5) of this section.

(3) For each fiscal year the total actual cost of administration as determined under paragraph (d)(1) of this section will be assessed against each such licensee or exemptee (except to the extent of the exemptions granted pursuant to paragraph (d)(2) of this section) in the proportion that the authorized installed capacity of each such project bears to the total such capacity under all such outstanding licenses or exemptions.

(4) To enable the Commission to compute on the bill for annual charges the exemption to which State and municipal licensees and exemptees are entitled because of the use of power by the licensee or exemptee for State or municipal purposes, each such licensee or exemptee must file with the Commission, on or before November 1 of each year, a statement under oath showing the following information with respect to the power generated by the project and the disposition thereof during the preceding fiscal year, expressed in kilowatt-hours:

(i) Gross amount of power generated by the project.

(ii) Amount of power used for station purposes and lost in transmission, etc.

(iii) Net amount of power available for sale or use by licensee or exemptee, classified as follows:

(A) Used by licensee or exemptee.

(B) Sold by licensee or exemptee.

(5) When the power from a licensed or exempted project owned by a State or municipality enters into its electric system, making it impracticable to meet the requirements of this section with respect to the disposition of project power, such licensee or exemptee may, in lieu thereof, furnish similar information with respect to the disposition of the available power of the entire electric system of the licensee or exemptee.

(6) The assessments commence on the date of commencement of project operation. In the event that project operation commences during a fiscal year, the charges will be prorated based on the date on which operation commenced.

(e) Transmission lines. For projects involving transmission lines only, the administrative charge will be stated in the license.

(f) Maximum charge. No licensed or exempted project's annual charge may exceed a maximum charge established each year by the Commission to equal 2.0 percent of the adjusted Commission costs of administration of the hydropower regulatory program. For every project with an annual charge determined to be above the maximum charge, that project's annual charge will be set at the maximum charge, and any amount above the maximum charge will be reapportioned to the remaining projects. The reapportionment will be computed using the method outlined in paragraphs (c) and (d) of this section (but excluding any project whose annual charge is already set at the maximum amount). This procedure will be repeated until no project's annual charge exceeds the maximum charge.

(g) Commission's costs.

(1) With respect to costs incurred by the Commission, the assessment of annual charges will be based on an estimate of the costs of administration of Part I of the Federal Power Act that will be incurred during the fiscal year in which the annual charges are assessed. After the end of the fiscal year, the assessment will be recalculated based on the costs of administration that were actually incurred during that fiscal year; the actual costs will be compared to the estimated costs; and the difference between the actual and estimated costs will be carried over as an adjustment to the assessment for the subsequent fiscal year.

(2) The issuance of bills based on the administrative costs incurred by the Commission during the year in which the bill is issued will commence in 1993. The annual charge for the administrative costs that were incurred in fiscal year 1992 will be billed in 1994. At the licensee's option, the charge may be paid in three equal annual installments in fiscal years 1994, 1995, and 1996, plus any accrued interest. If the licensee elects the three-year installment plan, the Commission will accrue interest (at the most recent yield of two-year Treasury securities) on the unpaid charges and add the accrued interest to the installments billed in fiscal years 1995 and 1996.

(h) In making their annual reports to the Commission on their costs in administering Part I of the Federal Power Act, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service are to deduct any amounts that were deposited into their Treasury accounts during that year as reimbursements for conducting studies and reviews pursuant to section 30(e) of the Federal Power Act.

(i) Definition. As used in paragraphs (c) and (d) of this section, authorized installed capacity means the lesser of the ratings of the generator or turbine units. The rating of a generator is the product of the continuous-load capacity rating of the generator in kilovolt-amperes (kVA) and the system power factor in kW/kVA. If the licensee or exemptee does not know its power factor, a factor of 1.0 kW/kVA will be used. The rating of a turbine is the product of the turbine's capacity in horsepower (hp) at best gate (maximum efficiency point) opening under the manufacturer's rated head times a conversion factor of 0.75 kW/hp. If the generator or turbine installed has a rating different from that authorized in the license or exemption, or the installed generator is rewound or otherwise modified to change its rating, or the turbine is modified to change its rating, the licensee or exemptee must apply to the Commission to amend its authorized installed capacity to reflect the change.

(j) Transition. For a license having the capacity of the project for annual charge purposes stated in horsepower, that capacity shall be deemed to be the capacity stated in kilowatts elsewhere in the license, including any amendments thereto.

[60 FR 15047, Mar. 22, 1995, as amended by Order 584, 60 FR 57925, Nov. 24, 1995; Order 815, 80 FR 63671, Oct. 21, 2015; Order 857, 84 FR 7991, Mar. 6, 2019]