(WASHINGTON-- May 2, 2025) Today, the White House released its Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request, outlining proposed spending across the federal government. Concerningly, the Budget proposes a 55 percent reduction in U.S. EPA’s annual spending—a reduction that is only made possible by kneecapping the primary water infrastructure financing programs on which local utilities rely.

For public utilities, setting fair and equitable rates is a complex and ever-evolving challenge. Traditionally, cost-of-service studies have relied on historical assumptions, monthly meter reads, and estimations based on small subsamples of customer usage data. However, with the innovation of Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), utilities now have access to an unprecedented level of granular data—hourly usage for every customer.