The Commission issues licenses and exemptions for hydropower projects under the provisions of the Federal Power Act (FPA). Licenses and exemptions contain various conditions (articles) with time limits for compliance. If a licensee or exemptee needs more time to comply with the conditions set forth by the license or exemption it must file a request for extension of time (EOT), in compliance with 18 CFR. § 385.2008 (Rule 2008) . The Division of Hydropwer Administration and Compliance (DHAC) monitors the compliance of non-dam safety requirements and EOT requests filed by a licensee or exemptee.

All EOT requests must be filed with the Commission prior to the requirement’s due date to allow sufficient time for staff review. Requests to extent the time to commence or complete construction of project works must be filed not less than three months prior to the due date. All EOT requests must include appropriate justification and propose a reasonable date when the filing will be made with the Commission to meet the requirement. Additionally, licensees and exemptees are expected to be familiar with all license/exemption requirements that could potentially be affected by the extension of time request. Any request filed after the requirement due date is considered late and will be considered a violation unless the licensee/exemptee shows extraordinary circumstances why it did not act timely.

DHAC reviews and responds to non dam safety EOT requests filed with the Commission in the form of an Order granting or denying the extension of time. Whether or not the EOT is granted or denied depends heavily on the information the licensee or exemptee files in support of the request. If the request is granted, the extended due date will be stated in the Order. If the request is denied, the due date to meet the requirement will remain unchanged.

Questions regarding extensions of time should be referred to the resource area in the Division of Administration and Compliance. Contact information is shown on the right side of this web page.

This page was last updated on July 08, 2020