Important: Check if you have a Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS) meter before the switch-off in June

Community_Scope
Community_Scope Posts: 1,841 Empowering
edited May 12 in Everyday life

What’s happening?

If you have a Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS) meter (black box in the image), they are being switched off on 30 June.

The RTS meter is the black box on the right. There are different types, so yours may look a little different. But they are all black and say Radio Teleswitch on them.

(Caption: The RTS meter is the black box on the right. There are different types, so yours may look a little different. But they are all black and say Radio Teleswitch on them.)

What will that mean for me?

After this date, your heating and hot water supply may stop working as normal. You may find it’s continually left on or off, or the charging-up happens at the wrong time of day. Your electricity supplier won’t be able to confirm how much electricity you have used during peak or off-peak times, which means your electricity costs could be much higher than before.

How do I know if I have an RTS meter?

  • There may be a separate switch box near your meter with a radio teleswitch label on it
  • Your property is heated using electricity or storage heaters
  • There is no gas supply to your area. This includes households in rural areas and high-rise flats
  • You get cheaper energy at different times of day. Your tariff might be: Economy 7, Economy 10 or Total Heat Total Control.

If you are still unsure, contact your electricity supplier, who should be able to confirm whether you have an RTS meter.

What do I need to do?

  • Contact your electricity supplier to get a free smart meter upgrade before the switch off.
  • If you’d like help with contacting your supplier, Scope can support you. Call our Disability Energy Support service on 0808 801 0828, Monday to Friday from 9.30am to 4.00pm.
  • Find out more about the RTS meter switch-off here
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Comments

  • Wibbles
    Wibbles Online Community Member Posts: 2,580 Championing

    There are 300,000 RTS electric meters still being used – that will stop working on 30 June 2025 – ie) under 2 months time

    The reason being that they are switched on and off by a long wave radio signal – which will be switched off in 2 months time.

    Nobody can say what will happen – they may stay on 24/7 or permanently off

    Suppliers are trying to change them all but are running out of time – they are changing 1000 per day but need to change 5000 per day to meet the target

    It could mean many people lose power on 30 June

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