Half a million people in the UK have been cautioned that they may lose their electricity and hot water if they continue using outdated energy meters
Almost 500,000 people have been advised that they could be ‘cut off’ from electricity and hot water in the next few months if they continue using this popular but dated energy meter. According to Energy UK, it’s estimated that half a million people in England, Wales and Scotland still use the Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS) energy meter.
The Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS) is a system that communicates with older electricity meters via radio signals, enabling them to toggle between peak and off-peak rates typically used by traditional multi-rate meters. This allows customers to access cheaper, ‘off-peak’ electricity costs.
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However, the RTS is nearing the end of its operational life, and the equipment responsible for generating the radio signal is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain. So, households still using the RTS are encouraged to swap to a new smart meter or risk getting their electricity and hot water supply cut off.
The service will end on June 30, 2025, which means that those who have not yet upgraded by then risk losing electricity and hot water. Energy UK reports that 490,000 people still rely on the old RTS meter, and despite a national campaign to raise attention about the significant change, many people have not yet taken urgent action.
The operations director at Octopus Energy, Joe Richardson, expressed his concern, saying, “We’re quite worried for customers who don’t replace them, as their heating might get stuck on or might not come on at all and they might not have hot water.” Richardson emphasises the importance of switching the meters over as soon as possible: “We really want people to get in touch with us to have these meters changed as soon as possible. It’s important not to wait until the deadline.”
However, Anindita Sarkar from the Citizens’ Advice Bureau in Reading told the BBC that some residents are fearful of switching to the new smart meters. Hence the delay in getting households to take action.
Explaining that people are ‘worried’ that they might not work as efficiently, despite working effectively “most of the time”. Sarkar explains “It is technology so might have interruptions but when they’re working well smart meters have many advantages.” According to the Glasgow City Council, door knockers will be sent directly to customers to “emphasise the importance of getting an upgrade.” The convenor for housing and development at Glasgow City Council, Councillor Ruairi Kelly, said, “It’s really important that anyone with one of these meters has it replaced, as it could lead to them not being able to use their heating.”
Ilke Weiss from Goring recently updated her home heating system, which meant the existing RTS meter had to be swapped out for a smart meter. Ms Weiss told the BBC, “The RTS meter was here when we moved in, it was a night storage heating system and therefore we had day and night electricity.”
She added: “It’s very good to get rid of this old one, as we also got rid of the night storage heater – every little step towards being more ecological and sustainable is good.”
