18 CFR § 11.12 - Determination of section 10(f) costs.

(a) for non-Federal headwater projects. If the headwater project was constructed by a licensee or pre-1920 permittee and a party requests the Commission to determine charges, the Commission will determine on a case-by-case basis what portion of the annual interest, maintenance, and depreciation costs of the headwater project constitutes the section 10(f) costs, for purposes of this subpart.

(b) For Federal headwater projects.

(1) If the headwater project was constructed or is operated by the United States, and the Commission has not approved a settlement between the downstream project owner and the headwater project owner, the section 10(f) cost will be determined by deriving, from information provided by the headwater project owner pursuant to § 11.16 of this subpart, the joint-use power cost and the portion of the annual joint-use power cost that represents the interest, maintenance, and depreciation costs of the project.

(2) If power is not an authorized function of the headwater project, the section 10(f) cost is the annual interest, maintenance, and depreciation portion of the headwater project costs designated as the joint-use power cost, derived by deeming a power function at the project. The value of the benefits assigned to the deemed power function, for purposes of determining the value of remaining benefits of the joint-use power cost, is the total value of downstream energy gains included in the headwater benefits formula.

(3) For purposes of this paragraph, total value of downstream energy gains means the lesser of:

(i) The cost of generating an equivalent amount of electricity at the most likely alternative facility at the time the headwater project became operational; or

(ii) The incremental cost of installing electrical generation at the headwater project at the time the project became operational.