On May 14, 2015, FERC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
("NOPR") proposing to change the date on which FERC
begins to assess annual charges for hydropower licenses and
exemptions that authorize unconstructed projects and unconstructed
new capacity. The Federal Power Act and the Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act of 1986 require that FERC collect annual charges
from such licensees and exemptees in order to cover the costs of
administering the hydropower portion of the Federal Power Act.
Currently FERC commences assessment of the annual charges on the
date that project construction starts. However, the date that
project construction starts is not always the date anticipated by
the parties when FERC issues an order issuing a license or
exemption, or authorizing additional capacity. In the NOPR,
FERC explains that this approach can be problematic, because when
construction is delayed, the collection of charges is also
delayed. Additionally, the delay in
