Hundreds of thousands of households on older electricity meters are at risk of being left without heating and hot water. There are still around 300,000 radio teleswitch service (RTS) meters in homes – but these are being switched off on June 30.
If you have one of these meters, you need to upgrade to a smart meter or your heating could end up being permanently turned off – or stuck on constantly. This would significantly put up your energy bills.
RTS meters were introduced in the 1980s and they use a radio signal to switch between peak and off-peak electricity rates. Ned Hammond, Energy UK deputy director for customers, told BBC Radio 4 You and Yours programme that it will be “very, very difficult” to replace all RTS meters before the deadline.
He said: “Obviously we’d need to increase from there significantly still to replace all the meters by the end of June.” Energy UK said 430,000 households still had an RTS meter at the end of March, with more than 1,000 RTS meters being replaced each day.
You may have an RTS meter if you have a switch box near your energy meter labelled Radio Teleswitch, if you have electric or storage heaters, if there is no gas supply to your area, or if you get cheaper energy at different times of day.
Simon Francis, coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said: “Our member organisations across the country will continue to do all they can to support the transition and raise awareness of the switch, but urgent action is now required.
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“There is a very real risk that over 300,000 households will find their RTS meter stops working properly come 1 July 2025. With pressures on the replacement programme growing and with limited engineer availability, especially in rural areas, there’s a real risk of prolonged disruption, particularly for vulnerable households.
“Government, regulators and energy firms need to face up to the looming crisis and ramp up efforts to help people switch. At the same time we now need to ensure contingency measures are in place for those who do not make the deadline and require energy suppliers to ensure fair metering and billing practices.”
It comes after the Ofgem price cap rose to £1,849 a year for the average dual fuel household paying by direct debit. Energy analysts at Cornwall Insight are predicting it could fall to £1,683 in July.
Ofgem will announce its new energy price cap by May 27. This new rate will come into force from July 1 and will run for three months, until August 31.
Despite what its name suggests, the Ofgem price cap does not put a limit on how much you can pay for energy – instead, it sets the maximum unit price you can be charged for gas and electricity, as well as the maximum daily standing charge.
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