A bill to require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to extend the time period during which licensees are required to commence construction of certain hydropower projects.
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill lets the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission give certain hydropower licensees more time to begin construction. It applies to hydropower projects with FERC licenses issued before March 13, 2020. If a licensee asks and shows good cause after reasonable notice, FERC may grant up to three consecutive two-year extensions, for as much as six additional years beyond the eight years normally available under section 13 of the Federal Power Act.
Who Benefits and How
Pre-2020 FERC hydropower licensees benefit because they can keep covered licenses alive when pandemic-era or post-pandemic delays prevented construction from starting on time. Hydropower developers whose construction deadline expired after December 31, 2023 and before enactment also benefit because FERC can reinstate the license effective as of the expiration date.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The FERC hydropower licensing program must review extension requests, provide reasonable notice, decide whether good cause exists, and reinstate eligible expired licenses. Public river recreation users and other stakeholders waiting for finality may face longer uncertainty because a licensed project can remain pending for additional years before construction starts.
Key Provisions
- Defines covered projects as hydropower projects licensed by FERC before March 13, 2020.
- Authorizes up to three consecutive two-year construction-start extensions for covered projects.
- Allows FERC to reinstate certain licenses that expired after December 31, 2023 and before enactment.
- Requires reasonable notice and good cause before FERC grants an extension.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
This bill lets the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission give certain hydropower licensees more time to begin construction. It applies to hydropower projects with FERC licenses issued before March 13, 2020. If a licensee asks and shows good cause after reasonable notice, FERC may grant up to three consecutive two-year extensions, for as much as six additional years beyond the eight years normally available under section 13 of the Federal Power Act.
Key Policy Areas
Energy, Hydropower, Federal Permitting
Primary Purpose
This bill lets the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission give certain hydropower licensees more time to begin construction. It applies to hydropower projects with FERC licenses issued before March 13, 2020. If a licensee asks and shows good cause after reasonable notice, FERC may grant up to three consecutive two-year extensions, for as much as six additional years beyond the eight years normally available under section 13 of the Federal Power Act.
Policy Domains
FERC hydropower construction deadline extensions
Identified Gains
- Pre-2020 FERC hydropower licensees
- Hydropower project developers with expired deadlines
- Hydropower utilities
Identified Costs
- Federal Energy Regulatory Commission hydropower licensing program
- Public river recreation users
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
Signed into LawSigned by President.
Became Public Law No: 119-90.
Presented to President.
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate …
Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H3024-3025)
At the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were …
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without …
Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules …
On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill …
Considered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H3026-3027)
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Hydropower project developers with expired post-2023 deadlines, Pre-2020 FERC hydropower licensees
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission hydropower licensing program
Public river recreation users waiting for license finality
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "ferc"
- → Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
- "licensee"
- → Licensee of a covered hydropower project
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
A hydropower project for which FERC issued a license before March 13, 2020.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology