There’s been lots in the news this week about the fact that households with old style RTS electricity meters should get them upgraded before 30 June.
I was invited on Channel 5News to explain what this all means, how to find out if you’ll be affected and what you should do.
If you missed it, here’s my quick recap with what you need to know.
What’s the fuss about?
Around 300,000 households still have old style RTS electricity meters. RTS stands for Radio Teleswitch Service and the technology is pretty old, dating back to the 1980’s, and will be switched off on 30 June this year.
Once this happens, meters are unlikely to work properly, and this could mean finding you can’t get hot water, heating or even billing issues.
How do I know I’ve got a RTS meter?
Your supplier should be in touch, (or already contacted you), if you’ve got one of these meters and need it upgrading. But worth checking if you’ve got one, and if so contacting your supplier yourself.
Quick check is to look for a ‘switch’ box beside your electricity meter with an ‘RTS’ label on it.
You may have an RTS meter if you don’t have a gas supply and have storage heaters or Economy 7 heating.
What should I do if I’ve got a RTS meter?
If you’ve got one of these old style meters, it needs to be upgraded to a new one.
Contact your electricity supplier, who can arrange to upgrade it to a smart meter free of charge. Even if you can’t have a smart meter for any reason, your meter will still need changing.
Will it cost me any money?
Having your old meter upgraded is totally free and should be done by your electricity supplier, so watch out for scammers who may get in touch telling you that you need to pay for this.