Southern California Edison (SCE) has begun the relicensing process for the Kern River No. 1 Hydroelectric Project (Project) (P-1930). Please use this page to find out how to get involved and stay up to date.

Below are links to Project-related materials, notifications, and documentation (provided as PDFs). All documents related to the Project can also be found on FERC’s eLibrary. This page will be updated throughout the relicensing process as new materials become available or are updated.

Relicensing Overview

SCE’s operating license for the Project, FERC Project No. 1930, expires on May 31, 2028. Consequently, SCE is taking the initial steps required by the Federal Power Act and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to obtain a new license for the Project using the Integrated Licensing Process (ILP) (see SCE's Relicensing Notice here).

As required by the ILP, SCE prepared the Notice of Intent (NOI) and Pre-Application Document (PAD) five years before expiration of the existing license, on May 5, 2023.

General Project Information

The Project is located on the Kern River approximately 15 miles east of the City of Bakersfield in Kern County, California. The Project is operated in a run-of-river mode. Water from the Kern River is diverted at Democrat Dam into a 9-mile-long flowline to the Project powerhouse which has a dependable generating capacity of 24.8 megawatts (MW). All Project facilities are located on National Forest Service lands within the Sequoia National Forest.

• Project Vicinity Map

Recent Project Filings

In accordance with Section 5.16(c) of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) regulations, Southern California Edison Company (SCE) filed a Draft License Application (DLA) for the Kern River No. 1 Hydroelectric Project (P-1389) on December 18, 2025. The public portions of the DLA are provided below under Relicensing Documents. The last day to file public comments on the DLA with FERC is April 1, 2026.

To file a comment on the DLA, refer to the instructions on FERC’s website here. For comments up to 6,000 characters follow the online instructions using the eComment system. For longer comments, follow the instructions under the eFiling system. All filings must clearly identify the following on the first page: Kern River No. 1 Hydroelectric Project (P-1930). For additional assistance, please contact FERC Online Support (FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov) or toll free at 1-866-208-3676.

To receive timely and direct communication from FERC regarding all filings associated with the Kern River No. 1 Project (Docket No. P-1930), follow the directions to register for an “eSubscription” at https://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/esubscription.asp.

All documents related to the Kern River No. 1 Hydroelectric Project can be found on FERC’s eLibrary. Links to relevant documents can also be accessed below.

Upcoming Meetings

There are no upcoming meetings.

• March 19, 2025 Initial Study Report Meeting Agenda
• March 19, 2025 Initial Study Report Meeting Presentation
• Kern River No. 1 Hydroelectric Project Relicensing FERC Project No. 1930 – Notice of Rescheduled Stakeholder Meeting
• June 13, 2023, Stakeholder Meeting Presentation
• August 1 2023, FERC Site Visit Booklet
• FERC August 2 2023, Scoping Meeting PP Presentation
• SCE_August 2 2023, Scoping Meeting PP Presentation
• August 2, 2023, FERC Scoping Meetings Transcript
• Initial Study Report Meeting Notification
• November 14, 2023, Proposed Study Plan Meeting Presentation

Technical Working Groups (TWG)

SCE would like to invite you to participate in the Kern River No. 1 Hydroelectric Relicensing Technical Working Group (TWG) meetings organized by the following resource areas:

• Aquatics
• Cultural
• Land
• Recreation
• Terrestrial

The TWG meetings are intended to obtain input on the content of the draft Technical Study Plans provided in SCE’s Pre-Application Document, dated May 2023. The meetings are open to federal and state resource agencies, local governments, Native American Tribes, non-governmental organizations, and other interested parties. Participants are expected to prepare for and attend meetings, review documents, and provide technical input to SCE and its consultants on methods, analysis, reporting, and scheduling. Considering this time commitment, it is expected that the TWG process will attract a relatively small number of subject matter experts. SCE will also support a concurrent but separate outreach effort to provide information about the relicensing to the interested public, as well as stakeholders electing not to participate in the TWG process, via electronic communication and updates to the Project website www.sce.com/kr1.

The TWG meeting schedule can be found below.

To be included in the TWG meetings, please complete the Technical Working Group Sign-up Form. 

Contact Us

FERC Relicensing Process

• Hydropower Licensing – A Guide for the Public
• Integrated Licensing Process (ILP)
• FERC ILP Process Chart
• Ideas for Participating in the ILP Process

Study Plan Development and Participation

• FERC Study Plan Criteria Guidance
• Understanding the ILP Study Criteria

Project Literature Library

• Current FERC License (1998)