AMWA Leads Letter To Legislators Supporting Clean Energy Tax Credits

Last week, AMWA spearheaded a pair of letters to several House and Senate committee leaders, co-signed by five water sector and municipal partners, expressing support for the clean energy tax credits introduced under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). As Congress considers rolling back many of the programs and tax credits established through the IRA, AMWA and its partners advocate for the continuation of certain credits that support cost-effective infrastructure investments for the drinking water and wastewater sector.

The request to maintain these cost-saving provisions was sent as Congress is working to develop a larger tax reform package that could eliminate various tax credits established through the IRA. AMWA’s letter was sent to the House Ways and Means Committee and Committee on the Budget and the Senate Finance Committee and Committee on the Budget. Specifically, four IRA tax credits related to on-site electricity generation, financial incentives for alternative energy production, and vehicle fleet optimization have helped the water sector, and cities and towns across the country, lower operating costs. These credits create incentives for utilities to invest in cost-saving energy practices, which lower the overall cost of water for ratepayers.

The letters also iterate the organizations’ support for the continuation of elective pay mechanisms that the IRA utilizes. These direct pay processes ensure that publicly owned utilities can more easily leverage federal funding without the need for complex systems.

“As a result of its mission to provide services essential to public health and economic vitality, public water systems require a significant amount of energy to treat and distribute water. The critical operations of both drinking and wastewater treatment facilities are energy-intensive operations, and energy usage can account for as much as 40 percent of drinking water utilities’ operating costs,” the groups wrote in the letters. “By utilizing targeted tax credits, water utilities can significantly reduce their operational costs and pass those savings on to ratepayers.”