On December 19, 2025, Nature and People First Arizona PHS, LLC's, filed an application for a preliminary permit, pursuant to section 4(f) of the Federal Power Act (FPA), proposing to study the feasibility of the Chilchinbeto Pumped Storage Project. The proposed facility would be a 1.0 gigawatt (GW) pumped storage hydroelectric facility located approximately 12 miles southwest of the town of Kayenta in Navajo County, Arizona. The proposed project would occupy federal land managed by the Navajo Nation. The sole purpose of a preliminary permit, if issued, is to grant the permit holder priority to file a license application during the permit term. A preliminary permit does not authorize the permit holder to perform any land-disturbing activities or otherwise enter upon lands or waters owned by others without the owners' express permission.

The proposed project would consist of the following new facilities: (1) a 300-acre upper reservoir with a storage capacity of 10,000 acre-feet at a water surface elevation of 7,590 feet above mean sea level (msl); (2) a 300-acre lower reservoir with a storage capacity of 10,000 acre-feet at a water surface elevation of 6,100 feet above msl; (3) a 30-foot-diameter, 12,000-foot-long concrete lined power conduit to the powerhouse; (4) a subterranean 130-foot-wide, 290-foot-long, 200-foot-high, powerhouse with four 335,000 horsepower pump/turbines and four 250,000 kW generators ; (5) a lower power conduit consisting of four 16-foot-diameter, 500-foot-long, draft tube tunnels discharging into lower reservoir; (6) a potential new transmission line to be determined out of four alternatives including: a) an 108-mile, 240kv line, b) an 113-mile, 220-287 kv line, c) an 16.7-mile, 220-287 kv line, or d) an 42.4-mile 500kv line; and (7) appurtenant facilities. The proposed project would have an estimated annual generation of 3,120,750 megawatt-hours.

Applicant Contact: Mr. Denis Payre, Manager, Nature and People First Arizona PHS, LLC, 809 W Riordan Road, Suite 100-452, Flagstaff, AZ 86001; email: Denis.Payre@natureandpeoplefirst.com; phone: (781)-491-5364.

FERC Contact: Jane Dalgliesh; email: jane.dalgiesh@ferc.gov; phone: (503) 552-2718.

Deadline for filing comments, motions to intervene, competing applications (without notices of intent), or notices of intent to file competing applications: on or before 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on July 27, 2026. Competing applications and notices of intent must meet the requirements of 18 CFR 4.36.

For public inquiries and assistance with making filings such as interventions, comments, or requests for rehearing, the public is encouraged to contact OPP at (202) 502-6595 or OPP@ferc.gov.

The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file comments, motions to intervene, notices of intent, and competing applications using the Commission's eFiling system at https://ferconline.ferc.gov/​eFiling.aspx. Commenters can submit brief comments up to 6,000 characters, without prior registration, using the eComment system at https://ferconline.ferc.gov/​QuickComment.aspx. For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov, (866) 208-3676 (toll free), or (202) 502-8659 (TTY). In lieu of electronic filing, you may submit a paper copy. Submissions sent via the U.S. Postal Service must be addressed to: Debbie-Anne A. Reese, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426. Submissions sent via any other carrier must be addressed to: Debbie-Anne A. Reese, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20852. The first page of any filing should include docket number P-15419-000.

More information about this project, including a copy of the application, can be viewed or printed on the “eLibrary” link of Commission's website at https://elibrary.ferc.gov/​eLibrary/​search. Enter the docket number (P-15419) in the docket number field to access the document. For assistance, contact FERC Online Support.

(Authority: 18 CFR 2.1)