{"id":297,"date":"2025-04-30T07:17:35","date_gmt":"2025-04-30T07:17:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vecimasupport.com\/?p=297"},"modified":"2025-05-06T00:12:31","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T00:12:31","slug":"electric-meters-are-changing-heres-how-it-affects-you-and-what-you-need-to-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.vecimasupport.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/30\/electric-meters-are-changing-heres-how-it-affects-you-and-what-you-need-to-do\/","title":{"rendered":"Electric meters are changing \u2013 here\u2019s how it affects you and what you need to do"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The tech is becoming obsolete (Picture: Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hundreds of thousands of people could be left with no heating or hot water as their obsolete electricity meters are shut down.<\/p>\n

Radio Teleswitching Systems (RTS) are being switched off for good on June 30 – but energy companies warn it will be ‘very very difficult’ to replace all of them with smart meters before that deadline.<\/p>\n

By the end of March there were still 430,000 homes using RTS meters for their heating and hot water, and campaigners reckon more than 300,000 will still be stuck with the old tech when it’s switched off.<\/p>\n

Energy UK, which represents energy companies, says more than 1,000 RTS meters are being replaced each day – but in order to reach everyone in time they would need to replace closer to 5,000 per day.<\/p>\n

And not only could homes be left with no heating or hot water, there are also concerns they could be stuck with their heating constantly on during the warmer summer months.<\/p>\n

Ofgem, the energy regulator, has called it an ‘urgent consumer welfare issue’ while the government said the industry has to ‘work urgently to continue to increase the pace of replacements’.<\/p>\n

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It’s feared households could be left without heating or hot water<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When asked if it was impossible to switch every meter by the June 30 deadline, Ned Hammond, Energy UK’s deputy director for customers, told the BBC<\/a>: ‘I wouldn’t want to say impossible – but clearly very, very difficult to get to that point.’<\/p>\n

RTS meters have been used since the 1980s, using a longwave radio frequency to switch between peak and off peak rates.<\/p>\n

They tend to control heating and hot water on a separate circuit to the rest of the household’s electrics, meaning plug sockets and lights are unlikely to be impacted by the switch-off.<\/p>\n

The deadline for the switch-off was originally set for March 2024, but it was extended by more than a year to give energy companies more time.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\tHow do I know if I have an RTS meter?\t\t\t<\/h2>\n
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According to the Energy Saving Trust, you might have an RTS meter if you: <\/p>\n