Substitute House Bill No. 5426, Public Act No. 24-145, is an act concerning energy assistance studies and fuel vendor reimbursement. The bill mandates the Commissioner of Social Services to form a working group to study best practices from other states for fairly compensating deliverable fuel vendors within energy assistance programs, ensuring maximum funding benefits for recipients. The working group will consist of various stakeholders, including representatives from deliverable fuel vendors, community action agencies, the Department of Administrative Services, energy assistance recipients, and the Office of the Consumer Counsel. The commissioner is required to report the findings to the General Assembly's relevant committees by January 31, 2025.

Additionally, the bill instructs the Commissioner of Social Services to study the feasibility of creating a common application and benefits portal for low-income home energy assistance and Operation Fuel, Incorporated, with a report due by July 1, 2025. The bill also includes an insertion that, starting November 1, 2025, the commissioner must establish new pricing standards for deliverable fuel to ensure fair compensation for fuel vendors while maximizing funding for program beneficiaries. These new standards must be included in the annual plan for the program by August 1, 2025. The bill effectively repeals and replaces subsection (b) of section 16a-41a of the 2024 supplement to the general statutes to reflect these changes, effective July 1, 2024.