BHA Latest News: NRW License Fee Reduced Following BHA Intervention

This article is an excerpt from the BHA Latest News that was released on February 2nd 2026. To read more articles like this, become a member today.

The BHA has recently supported a Welsh hydropower operator whose abstraction and impoundment licences were deemed void following the death of the licence holder, due to notification being received after NRW’s internal 15-month period. NRW initially required a full new licence application, with a fee of £7,168.70, the same process and cost applied to an unbuilt scheme, despite no change to the operation or environmental impact of the project. 

Following BHA engagement, NRW has now agreed to reduce the fee to £1,440, equivalent to a standard licence renewal. This outcome reflects our key point that the 15-month notification period appears in guidance rather than statute and should not be treated as an absolute or punitive trigger. 

While clarification is still awaited on whether NRW will process this as a full new application or a renewal with a licence-holder name change, this represents an important step towards a more proportionate, pragmatic regulatory approach for existing hydropower schemes.