British Gas has issued a warning to thousands of smart meter users who could face huge bill hikes this summer.
The utility company has told households to upgrade their old electricity meters as soon as possible if they want to avoid possibly paying more for their electricity or even lose their water and heating supply altogether.
Customers still using Radio Teleswitching System (RTS) technology for their meters are required to upgrade to smart meters before June 30 – at which point all the old models stop working.
While a majority of households in the UK do not use RTS-dependent meters and therefore will not be affected, campaigners have warned more than 300,000 homes could still be at risk.
Campaign group End Fuel Poverty Coalition have called on the government and Ofgem to take action against this ‘looming crisis’ amid concerns of the speed and pace which will be required to replace the meters before the June deadline.
Energy companies have warned it could be ‘very, very difficult’ to replace all the RTS meters, with around 430,000 households still using the technology at the end of March.
British Gas is urging its 12,000 customers to book a free appointment with an engineer to upgrade their RTS meter as soon as possible.
Octopus Energy reported around 20,000 customers relied on RTS meters, while E.ON Next has issued a warning to over 65,000, GB News reported.
British Gas has issued a warning to thousands of smart meter users who could face huge bill hikes this summer (Stock image)
The utility company has told households to upgrade their old electricity meters as soon as possible or risk losing water and heating in just a matter of weeks (Stock image)
RTS meters were introduced in the 1980s and rely on longwave radio signals from the BBC’s transmitter to switch meters between peak and off-peak tariff rates.
However the equipment which broadcasts the signal from the Droitwich Transmitting Station in Worcestershire is nearly obsolete, which has prompted their termination.
Households may have an RTS meter if they have a switch box near their energy meter labelled ‘Radio Teleswitch’, or have electric or storage heaters.
RTS meters are also found if there is no gas supply to the area, or in rural areas or in a block of flats.
Those who get cheaper energy at different times of day may also be impacted, including on tariffs such as ‘Economy 7’, ‘Economy 10’ or ‘Total Heat Total Control’.
A campaign for the switchover was launched in January by a taskforce set up last year which included Ofgem and trade group Energy UK, backed by consumer groups National Energy Action and Energy Action Scotland.
Ofgem warned in the campaign: ‘Failure to act may result in the heating and/or hot water being continually left on or off, or the charging-up happening at the wrong time of day, leading to higher bills.’
Customers were told that they will not be charged for their meter replacement and should be aware of scams, given no payment details should be asked for when booking an appointment.
British Gas is urging its 12,000 customers to book a free appointment with an engineer to upgrade their RTS meter as soon as possible (Stock image)
Customers still using Radio Teleswitching System (RTS) technology for their meters are required to upgrade to smart meters before June 30 (Stock image)
Ofgem said at the time that it expected suppliers to transfer 100,000 customers using RTS every month until June, which it said was feasible under current plans.
But suppliers have warned this task is becoming increasingly difficult with the deadline looming.
Energy UK’s deputy director for customers Ned Hammond told BBC Radio 4 that a ‘significant’ increase in the rate of replacements is needed to meet the deadline.
‘I wouldn’t want to say impossible – but clearly very, very difficult to get to that point,’ he warned.
A British Gas spokesman told GB News: ‘It’s important that customers with an RTS meter have it exchanged as soon as possible to ensure their heating and hot water continues to work properly after the Radio Teleswitch Service is switched off.’
‘Many customers have already been in touch and have avoided any issues, but we’re urging those who haven’t to arrange their free appointment for one of our engineers to visit.’
