1 day Ago By Evening Standard
Hundreds of thousands of homes in Britain could be left without hot water or heating when their old type of electricity meter goes out of action soon, officials and campaigners have warned. Around 300,000 properties could still have Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS), which will be switched off in just two months’ time. These homes have been urged to upgrade to smart meters as soon as possible to avoid being disconnected or forced to pay extortionate bills .
Energy UK , which represents energy companies, says more than 1,000 RTS meters are being replaced each day. However, in order to reach everyone in time firms would need to drastically replace more than 200 RTS meters an hour. Asked whether it was impossible to get every RTS meter switched over by June 30, Energy UK's deputy director for customers Ned Hammond told BBC Radio 4’s You and Yours programme: "I wouldn't want to say impossible, but clearly very, very difficult to get to that point.
" Simon Francis The Government said the industry has to “work urgently to continue to increase the pace of replacements”, while sector watchdog Ofgem described the switch as an “urgent consumer welfare issue”. Simon Francis, from End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said: "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." Energy Action Scotland’s Frazer Scott added: “Many of these firms are making significant profits from customers and yet their customers, including many vulnerable people, may be left without working heating and hot water or facing the prospect of spiralling costs in just a few weeks time.
” You may have an Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS) meter if: ■ Your home has a separate switch box near your meter with a Radio Teleswitch label on it ■ Your home is heated using electricity or storage heaters ■ There is no gas supply to your area, including households in rural areas and high-rise flats ■ You get cheaper energy at different times of day, for example, you might be on an Economy 7, Economy 10, or Total Heat Total Control tariff RTS was introduced by the Government in the 1980s, but is now reaching the end of its natural operational life because the infrastructure can no longer being maintained The technology uses a longwave radio frequency to switch between peak and off peak rates, or to control heating and hot water systems. The RTS network was originally planned to be switched off last spring, but was extended to give energy companies more time to inform customers..
