More than half a million households will be forced to have a smart meter before June – and here’s why
Within six months, hundreds of thousands of households will be forced to purchase a smart meter, according to This is Money.
Households that have resisted smart meters may have little choice when the Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS), which uses traditional meters, ends in June.
Energy regulator Ofgem says it expects suppliers to transfer 100,000 customers monthly via RTS until June, which it believes is achievable under current plans.
RTS meters piggyback on BBC Radio 4’s longwave channel to communicate with energy companies, many of which date back to the 1980s.
The BBC has long wanted to shut down RTS, but has kept it running to allow RTS meters to work, and it is paid for by energy companies.
Now the national broadcaster will permanently switch off the service in June, but there are still 600,000 households that use RTS meters.
Switching: Old RTS meters like these may stop working properly in a few months
Suppliers were slow to switch customers, meaning Ofgem had to intervene last year to encourage suppliers.
This meant suppliers committed to contacting all RTS customers by the end of 2024 to offer a replacement.
Households are now receiving letters from their suppliers telling them they must switch to a smart meter before the switch or risk losing their heating and hot water supply.
Should households use smart meters?
According to Ofgem, the switch will see more households switch to smart meters as they become the standard meters in Britain.
As a result, it may not be possible for all households to continue using a traditional meter, and – crucially – there is no obligation on suppliers to do so.
Suppliers must achieve a certain number of smart meter installations, so they are very unlikely to encourage households to use older meters.
There are around 600,000 RTS meters left in Britain, after 300,000 were switched over by 2024.
Energy companies use RTS to switch a meter between peak and off-peak rates, so customers can get energy deals where they are charged less at certain times.
There are concerns that the elimination of the RTS will mean an end to these rates.
One reader told This Is Money that before June they had been ‘bombarded’ with emails about installing a new smart meter.
She was told the meter ‘may fail and I will no longer have access to the cheapest nightly rates after that deadline’ without a smart meter.
Suppliers have been told that suppliers must take reasonable steps to ensure RTS customers continue to charge the same or a similar rate, This Is Money understands, but in some cases this may not be possible.
Ofgem and suppliers say switching to a smart meter should give customers access to a wider choice of money-saving ‘smart meter only’ tariffs.
This appears to leave little choice for households looking for alternatives to the smart meter, although they can set it to ‘dumb mode’, meaning it does not send readings to the supplier.
An Ofgem spokesperson said: ‘We expect suppliers to consider a range of innovative solutions to ensure their RTS customers receive a metering and tariff scheme that suits them.
‘Smart meters are the best replacement for RTS meters – giving consumers more control over their energy use and access to new money-saving tariffs – but customers should talk to their supplier to understand what options are available.’
That said, according to the regulator, there may be households left with an RTS meter after June 2025. It says it has contingency plans and support in place and has asked suppliers to demonstrate how it will protect consumers who remain on RTS.
If you have any problems or questions about the RTS deadline, you should contact your supplier.
Have you received the letter? Contact: editor@thisismoney.co.uk
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