Self-certification. The qualifying facility status of an existing or a proposed facility that meets the requirements of § 292.203 may be self-certified by the owner or operator of the facility or its representative by properly completing a Form No. 556 and filing that form with the Commission, pursuant to § 131.80 of this chapter, and complying with paragraph (c) of this section.

Optional procedure—(1) Application for Commission certification. In lieu of the self-certification procedures in paragraph (a) of this section, an owner or operator of an existing or a proposed facility, or its representative, may file with the Commission an application for Commission certification that the facility is a qualifying facility. The application must be accompanied by the fee prescribed by part 381 of this chapter, and the applicant for Commission certification must comply with paragraph (c) of this section.

General contents of application. The application must include a properly completed Form No. 556 pursuant to § 131.80 of this chapter.

Commission action. (i) Within 90 days of the later of the filing of an application or the filing of a supplement, amendment or other change to the application, the Commission will either: Inform the applicant that the application is deficient; or issue an order granting or denying the application; or toll the time for issuance of an order. Any order denying certification shall identify the specific requirements which were not met. If the Commission does not act within 90 days of the date of the latest filing, the application shall be deemed to have been granted.

For purposes of paragraph (b) of this section, the date an application is filed is the date by which the Office of the Secretary has received all of the information and the appropriate filing fee necessary to comply with the requirements of this Part.

Notice requirements—(1) General. An applicant filing a self-certification, self-recertification, application for Commission certification or application for Commission recertification of the qualifying status of its facility must concurrently serve a copy of such filing on each electric utility with which it expects to interconnect, transmit or sell electric energy to, or purchase supplementary, standby, back-up or maintenance power from, and the State regulatory authority of each state where the facility and each affected electric utility is located. The Commission will publish a notice in the Federal Register for each application for Commission certification and for each self-certification of a cogeneration facility that is subject to the requirements of § 292.205(d).

Facilities of 500 kW or more. An electric utility is not required to purchase electric energy from a facility with a net power production capacity of 500 kW or more until 90 days after the facility notifies the facility that it is a qualifying facility or 90 days after the utility meets the notice requirements in paragraph (c)(1) of this section.

Revocation of qualifying status. (1)(i) If a qualifying facility fails to conform with any material facts or representations presented by the cogenerator or small power producer in its submittals to the Commission, the notice of self-certification or Commission order certifying the qualifying status of the facility may no longer be relied upon. At that point, if the facility continues to conform to the Commission's qualifying criteria under this part, the cogenerator or small power producer may file either a notice of self-recertification of qualifying status pursuant to the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section, or an application for Commission recertification pursuant to the requirements of paragraph (b) of this section, as appropriate.

The Commission may, on its own motion or on the motion of any person, revoke the qualifying status of a facility that has been certified under paragraph (b) of this section, if the facility fails to conform to any of the Commission's qualifying facility criteria under this part.

The Commission may, on its own motion or on the motion of any person, revoke the qualifying status of a self-certified or self-recertified qualifying facility if it finds that the self-certified or self-recertified qualifying facility does not meet the applicable requirements for qualifying facilities.

Prior to undertaking any substantial alteration or modification of a qualifying facility which has been certified under paragraph (b) of this section, a small power producer or cogenerator may apply to the Commission for a determination that the proposed alteration or modification will not result in a revocation of qualifying status. This application for Commission recertification of qualifying status should be submitted in accordance with paragraph (b) of this section.

For Federal Register citations affecting § 292.207, see the List of CFR Sections Affected, which appears in the Finding Aids section of the printed volume and at www.govinfo.gov.