FERC-556, Certification of Qualifying Facility (QF) Status for a Small Power Production or Cogeneration Facility

FERC-556 in general. The data required under 18 CFR Section 131.80 and 18 CFR Part 292 are used by the Commission to determine whether a proposed certification for QF status meets the criteria for a qualifying small power production facility or a qualifying cogeneration facility under its regulations and is eligible to receive the benefits available to it under PURPA. In order to obtain QF status and obtain PURPA benefits, an owner or operator of a small power production or cogeneration facility must follow the process indicated in FERC Form 556 and select, at its option, either the procedure set forth in 18 CFR Section 292.207(a), which requires the submission to FERC of a self-certification or self-recertification, or the procedure set forth in 18 CFR Section 292.207(b), which requires the submission to FERC of an application for Commission certification or recertification. The information requirements for these two processes are largely the same (i.e., the submittal of a completed FERC Form 556 provides the information necessary to demonstrate compliance with FERC’s regulations). If FERC did not collect the FERC Form 556 information, there would be no basis for the Commission to determine whether a facility satisfies the requirements of QF status. Since revocation of the qualifying status of a small power production or cogeneration facility may occur if the facility fails to comply with any of the 18 CFR Part 292 criteria, private financial lenders to small power production and cogeneration power facilities occasionally require small power producers and cogenerators to follow 18 CFR Section 292.207(b) procedures (certification by FERC as opposed to self-certification) in order to reduce the risk of status revocation.

The latest form for FERC-556, Certification of Qualifying Facility (QF) Status for a Small Power Production or Cogeneration Facility expires 2027-01-31 and can be found here.