S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term rating to 'A' from 'A+' on El Centro, Calif.'s series 2014A waterworks system revenue refunding bonds, issued by the El Centro Financing Authority. At the same time, we removed the rating from CreditWatch with negative implications, where it was placed on March 4, 2025. The outlook is negative. The lower rating reflects our view that the water system's financial risk profile has realized a somewhat diminished financial capacity, given rising cost-of-service in the past two fiscal years. In our view, the system hit a low point in its financial performance in fiscal years 2023 and 2024 (unaudited), with all-in coverage close to sufficiency (excluding rate stabilization fund transfers) mostly due to rising costs. The
