Plans to switch off the ‘radio teleswitch’ (RTS) service, which uses radio signals to control electricity rates for people who signed up to cheap overnight tariffs, have been delayed,
energy minister Miatta Fahnbulleh has confirmed.
Despite the switchoff plans in place for many years, she said, 314,935 RTS meters were still in premises as of 30 May 2025, a third of them in Scotland.
In a written statement Fahnbulleh said DESNZ would now “ensure that there will be a managed and more controlled start of the radio teleswitch service phase-out from 30 June. People with an RTS meter will not face any unexpected disruption to their heating or hot water at the end of the month.”
The technology behind RTS is reliant on infrastructure that was introduced in the 1980s that is due to be switched.
The new phase-out will begin with a very small number of homes and businesses in carefully targeted areas. In advance of any phase-out activity in their area, households and businesses will be contacted by their energy supplier.
Fahnulleh promised that “Government and Ofgem will closely monitor supplier that readiness to ensure the process is smooth and vulnerable consumers are identified and protected”. She said she would “continue to meet Ofgem and Energy UK on a fortnightly basis to review how the gradual and targeted phase-out is progressing, with a particular focus on Scotland – where over 100,000 RTS meters are installed – as well as remote and rural areas, to ensure that all efforts are made to reach these households”.
Ofgem has recently consulted on plans to introduce new RTS-specific licence conditions for energy suppliers. These will include a provision that suppliers must take all reasonable steps to provide a tariff that leaves their consumers “no worse off” than under their existing arrangement as a result of an RTS meter replacement. Suppliers will continue contacting consumers to book replacement appointments and consumers are urged to respond as soon as possible. In most cases, this will involve replacing the RTS meter with a smart meter, which can work in the same way as RTS meters, with automatic peak and off-peak rates.
Fahnbulleh added that “suppliers must fulfil all their obligations to consumers and drive up the rate of RTS meter replacements. In recent months, suppliers have taken various steps to speed up their replacement rates, and this must continue. The Department continues to impress upon suppliers the importance of resourcing themselves effectively to ensure that they can reach all their RTS consumers in good time, including those in rural areas.”
The radio teleswitch service uses radio signals to switch older electricity meters between different tariffs such as peak and off-peak, and can also be used to turn heating and hot water systems on and off at specific times of the day.