600,000 energy customers have been warned their meters will be “switched off”. Hundreds of thousands of energy customers have been handed a major update amid reports their meters will be phased out and scrapped before June.
The five-month warning impacts more than half a million energy customers who could be moved onto smart meters in the next six months ahead of a big switch off. 600,000 households who are on old meters that use Radio Teleswitch Service, or RTS for short, are affected.
Meters need to be replaced before June 30 when the RTS signal we be switched off for good. New figures reveal that 600,000 are still on RTS meters with just six months to go before the big switch off risking them “going dumb”.
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Anyone on RTS who fails to move to a smart meter could see that their “heating and hot water supply stops functioning as normal”. An Ofgem spokesperson said: “We expect suppliers to consider a range of innovative solutions to ensure their RTS customers get on to a metering and tariff arrangement appropriate for them.
“Smart meters are the best replacement for RTS meters – giving consumers more control of their energy usage and opening access to new money-saving tariffs – however, customers should speak to their supplier to understand the options that are available.”
If you’re not sure whether you have an RTS meter, there are a few things you can look out for. There may be a separate switch box near your meter with a radio teleswitch label on it or your property is heated using electricity or storage heaters.
There may be no gas supply to your area. This includes households in rural areas and high-rise flats. You may get cheaper energy at different times of day. Your tariff might be: Economy 7, Economy 10 or Total Heat Total Control.
If you’re unsure if you have RTS equipment, contact your electricity supplier who will be able to confirm for you.