Recent changes in federal law have brought important updates to how CalFresh determines eligibility for the State Utility Assistance Subsidy (SUAS) and the Standard Utility Allowance (SUA). These changes, part of HR 1 signed on July 4, 2025, directly affect which households may qualify for energy-related deductions and payments.
Basic internet costs can no longer be counted as part of a household’s utility expenses. Including internet costs as utility costs had not yet been implemented in California.
The rules for the annual SUAS payment of $20.01 (also known as Heat and Eat) have also changed. This payment is deposited once per year into the EBT cash account and allows the household to qualify for the Standard Utility Allowance deduction, even if there are not separate utility bills. Under the new rules, only households with at least one elderly (age 60 or older) or disabled member are eligible to receive the SUAS payment. Households without an elderly or disabled member will no longer receive this payment going forward.
In addition, not all households with elderly or disabled members will automatically qualify. To be eligible for SUAS, the household must meet specific conditions: the household cannot already be receiving the maximum CalFresh benefit for the household’s size, the household cannot already be receiving a higher benefit through the Homeless Shelter Deduction, and there must not be separate utility bills that are already counted toward the household’s CalFresh benefits. If the household does meet the new criteria, the SUAS payment will continue. If the household no longer qualifies, the household may still be eligible for other deductions such as the SUA, Limited Utility Allowance (LUA), or Telephone Utility Allowance (TUA) based on the actual expenses.
Another change is how weatherization payments are treated. If the household includes an elderly or disabled member and receives energy efficiency improvements through a weatherization program, this ensures eligibilty for the SUA. Even when a landlord receives the weatherization payment for a multi-unit building, the payment may still qualify the household, as long as the share of the payment for the unit is greater than $20 and it was received within the past year. SUAS payment will only go to households that are not otherwise eligible for the Standard Utility Allowance (SUA) through its own utility expenses, are not already receiving the maximum CalFresh allotment for its size, and contain an elderly (60 or older) or disabled member. Households meeting these criteria may still receive the Homeless Shelter Deduction instead of the SUAS if it gives them a higher benefit, but they cannot receive both.
Once the State finishes its system updates, energy assistance paid under state law will be treated differently depending on whether a household includes an elderly (age 60+) or disabled member. If a household does not include an elderly or disabled member, a state energy assistance payment will be treated as money payable directly to the household, which means it counts as income for CalFresh budgeting in the month it is received. If a household does include an elderly or disabled member, the SUAS payment will be treated as an out-of-pocket utility expense rather than income, so it will not be counted as income when determining CalFresh benefits. Only households with an elderly or disabled member can receive the SUAS payment under the new eligibility rules. When an elderly or disabled household receives SUAS, it does not count as income.
The new SUAS rules start once the state’s computer system changes are in place. From that date forward, counties must apply the new guidance to all new applications at initial certification. For households that are already on CalFresh, the new guidance will not applied mid-period. Instead, the case will be reviewed and the changes applied at the household’s next recertification. Until then, counties should not remove a household’s existing SUA just because the household no longer has an elderly or disabled member. The only mid-period utility change counties should make is if the household begins incurring heating or cooling costs. A verbal statement is sufficient to verify utilities unless it is questionable. Counties must not send a mid-period CW 2200 verification request only to verify utilities for this purpose.
Households will be evaluated for these changes at their next recertification. Ongoing households will not lose their SUAS or SUA benefits in the middle of a certification period, even if their situation changes. For example, if an elderly or disabled member leaves the household, the SUA deduction will remain in place until recertification. When recertifying, it may be asked about utility costs, but a verbal statement is generally enough to confirm expenses unless there is reason to question the information. (ACL 25-68, September 18, 2025.)
