Radio Teleswitch service ends 31/3/24 - may affect your electricity meter/boiler

[Lone Striker]

A heads-up on this.    Not relevant to homes with a smart meter.  But if  your electric meter receives a  regular radio signal to turn on/off things like your electric boiler (cost saving), this will probably affect you.   Similarly folk on tariffs which switch from off-peak to on-peak rates.

 

My understanding is that if your water is heated by a Heat Pump or you're on a single-rate electricity meter, this won't affect you,   but best to double-check with your supplier.   

Sadly loads of folk around here (including me) are on  a 3-rate meter with a Thermaflow boiler which operates the auto turn off/on thing using the RTS.    😒

 

This link to Ofgem gives some explanation -  Ofgem Link

 

 

[henrysmithsgloves]

Feel sorry for the folks that have the thermaflow systems in our area,cost an absolute fortune to run😳

[Lone Striker]

47 minutes ago, henrysmithsgloves said:

Feel sorry for the folks that have the thermaflow systems in our area,cost an absolute fortune to run😳

....and they're about to get even more expensive once the auto switch off/on 3 times a day disappears !!

 

😠

[Lone Striker]

An update on this, thanks to my MP doing what Scottish Power should have done (useless kants). Anyway, if you've got one of these meter types, you might be affected.

 

 

 

The Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS) is typically used to support those types of meters designed to work with electric storage and water heating systems. Controlled by a radio signal, the RTS operates a switch at the meter that controls when the heating and hot water circuits are available, helping to ensure that the electricity being used is always at the lower off-peak price.

The affected meters are:

• ComfortPlus Control

• ComfortPlus White Meter

• Domestic & Economy 2000

• Domestic 3

• Economy 7 Plus

• System 3

• Total Heat Total Control

• Twin Heat A and B

• White Meter No.1

• Economy 7

There are multiple parties involved in the management and operation of RTS, which includes:

• Electricity Networks Association – manage and maintain the wires, pipes and other infrastructure which delivers electricity to domestic properties

• Energy Suppliers – responsible for the meter, and for buying electricity and gas in the wholesale market and sell it on to customers

• BBC – responsible for equipment that produces the radio signal

• Cygnet – operate and control the Teleswitch Control Unit

• SSEN – responsible for the central weather system switch

• Ofgem / Government – responsible in dictating timescales / roll-out


The BBC equipment that produces the radio signal can no longer be satisfactorily maintained and at present the service will no longer operate beyond the end of March 2024. As a result, the BBC has scheduled the withdrawal of the RTS service, which affects all energy suppliers. This means that from 1 April 2024 the service will no longer support meters of the type listed above. However, it has been proposed by industry that this will be extended to 30 September 2025, but this is yet to be formally confirmed.
 

[Jim_Duncan]

30 minutes ago, Lone Striker said:

An update on this, thanks to my MP doing what Scottish Power should have done (useless kants). Anyway, if you've got one of these meter types, you might be affected.

 

 

 

The Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS) is typically used to support those types of meters designed to work with electric storage and water heating systems. Controlled by a radio signal, the RTS operates a switch at the meter that controls when the heating and hot water circuits are available, helping to ensure that the electricity being used is always at the lower off-peak price.

The affected meters are:

• ComfortPlus Control

• ComfortPlus White Meter

• Domestic & Economy 2000

• Domestic 3

• Economy 7 Plus

• System 3

• Total Heat Total Control

• Twin Heat A and B

• White Meter No.1

• Economy 7

There are multiple parties involved in the management and operation of RTS, which includes:

• Electricity Networks Association – manage and maintain the wires, pipes and other infrastructure which delivers electricity to domestic properties

• Energy Suppliers – responsible for the meter, and for buying electricity and gas in the wholesale market and sell it on to customers

• BBC – responsible for equipment that produces the radio signal

• Cygnet – operate and control the Teleswitch Control Unit

• SSEN – responsible for the central weather system switch

• Ofgem / Government – responsible in dictating timescales / roll-out


The BBC equipment that produces the radio signal can no longer be satisfactorily maintained and at present the service will no longer operate beyond the end of March 2024. As a result, the BBC has scheduled the withdrawal of the RTS service, which affects all energy suppliers. This means that from 1 April 2024 the service will no longer support meters of the type listed above. However, it has been proposed by industry that this will be extended to 30 September 2025, but this is yet to be formally confirmed.
 

Thanks for posting this. I've on ComfortPlus White Meter billing.

 

Looks like a shambles. Have they proposed a solution yet?

[Lone Striker]

23 minutes ago, Jim_Duncan said:

Thanks for posting this. I've on ComfortPlus White Meter billing.

 

Looks like a shambles. Have they proposed a solution yet?

Its is a fecking shambles.  I only heard about it from our boiler maintenance company 6 weeks ago - same with a few neighbours here.  Absolutely nothing from Scottish Power about it. Are you with them too ?    There is a page on their website which seems to only be  accessible if you type in the full URL - no link to it from any other page on their website, as far as I can tell. 

 

Here it is - https://www.scottishpower.co.uk/energy-efficiency/smart-meters/rts-meters

 

It affects all energy companies, and OFGem are supposedly monitoring the energy companies to make sure all their customers don't suffer outages when it gets switched off, etc   According to my bill, I've also got a  Comfort Plus White Meter.

 

From my vague understanding, getting your meter replaced by a Smart Meter solves the problem, but SP seem to be way behind in their conversion program so extremely unlikely they'll get round to us within the next 10 weeks.   

 

    Their customer communications via their website is  absolutely woeful - no email to customers to explain all this either.   I wrote an angry email tonight to their Retail Services CEO about it all.   Seems to me  all the parties involved in the RTS are now pinning their hopes that an agreement to delay the switch-off till 2025 happens.

 

[FWJ]

Thanks for the heads up. This is the first I’ve heard of it.

 

It sounds like I’ve got one of these meters - storage heaters come on at night.

I was supposed to have a smart meter installed over a year ago but the guy took one look at the meter (in a box in the hall outside the flat) and said he couldn’t touch it because the backboard was asbestos.

Haven’t heard a word since AND haven’t heard a cheep from eon about this automatic signal change.

 

 

[Joey J J Jr Shabadoo]

8 hours ago, Lone Striker said:

Its is a fecking shambles.  I only heard about it from our boiler maintenance company 6 weeks ago - same with a few neighbours here.  Absolutely nothing from Scottish Power about it. Are you with them too ?    There is a page on their website which seems to only be  accessible if you type in the full URL - no link to it from any other page on their website, as far as I can tell. 

 

Here it is - https://www.scottishpower.co.uk/energy-efficiency/smart-meters/rts-meters

 

It affects all energy companies, and OFGem are supposedly monitoring the energy companies to make sure all their customers don't suffer outages when it gets switched off, etc   According to my bill, I've also got a  Comfort Plus White Meter.

 

From my vague understanding, getting your meter replaced by a Smart Meter solves the problem, but SP seem to be way behind in their conversion program so extremely unlikely they'll get round to us within the next 10 weeks.   

 

    Their customer communications via their website is  absolutely woeful - no email to customers to explain all this either.   I wrote an angry email tonight to their Retail Services CEO about it all.   Seems to me  all the parties involved in the RTS are now pinning their hopes that an agreement to delay the switch-off till 2025 happens.

 

I booked an appointment on Scottish Power's website to have a smart meter fitted, last week. They're coming on 13th February to install it.

[vegas-voss]

My mum has one of these think it's system 3 she has it's storage heaters.She has a smart meter being installed middle of February will that make a difference.

[Jim_Duncan]

12 hours ago, Lone Striker said:

Its is a fecking shambles.  I only heard about it from our boiler maintenance company 6 weeks ago - same with a few neighbours here.  Absolutely nothing from Scottish Power about it. Are you with them too ?    There is a page on their website which seems to only be  accessible if you type in the full URL - no link to it from any other page on their website, as far as I can tell. 

 

Here it is - https://www.scottishpower.co.uk/energy-efficiency/smart-meters/rts-meters

 

It affects all energy companies, and OFGem are supposedly monitoring the energy companies to make sure all their customers don't suffer outages when it gets switched off, etc   According to my bill, I've also got a  Comfort Plus White Meter.

 

From my vague understanding, getting your meter replaced by a Smart Meter solves the problem, but SP seem to be way behind in their conversion program so extremely unlikely they'll get round to us within the next 10 weeks.   

 

    Their customer communications via their website is  absolutely woeful - no email to customers to explain all this either.   I wrote an angry email tonight to their Retail Services CEO about it all.   Seems to me  all the parties involved in the RTS are now pinning their hopes that an agreement to delay the switch-off till 2025 happens.

 

Yeah, we’re with SP and can’t change as they are the only ones to offer such a tariff. AFAIK, we’d have to fork out for a meter change if moving to another provider. 
 

No communication from SP about this. A wee letter to the ombudsman being scribbled later today. 

[Lone Striker]

5 hours ago, Joey J J Jr Shabadoo said:

I booked an appointment on Scottish Power's website to have a smart meter fitted, last week. They're coming on 13th February to install it.

Can I ask what the first part of your post code is  ?

[henrysmithsgloves]

1 hour ago, Jim_Duncan said:

Yeah, we’re with SP and can’t change as they are the only ones to offer such a tariff. AFAIK, we’d have to fork out for a meter change if moving to another provider. 
 

No communication from SP about this. A wee letter to the ombudsman being scribbled later today. 

Brother is in the same boat as yourself 🤬

[Jim_Duncan]

6 minutes ago, henrysmithsgloves said:

Brother is in the same boat as yourself 🤬

We live in a flat, bud. Good luck to your brother on his maritime dwelling 😜

 

 

[henrysmithsgloves]

3 minutes ago, Jim_Duncan said:

We live in a flat, bud. Good luck to your brother on his maritime dwelling 😜

 

 

Just trying to get into the country 😄

[Jim_Duncan]

2 minutes ago, henrysmithsgloves said:

Just trying to get into the country 😄

A few months of communicating with SP, and he'll have that boat turned around and headed for the Albanian coastline faster than you can 'customer service shitemare'.

[Joey J J Jr Shabadoo]

24 minutes ago, Lone Striker said:

Can I ask what the first part of your post code is  ?

You can have my full postcode, Dalkeith EH22 3BA.

 

I did receive emails beforehand,  and when I booked it there was a calendar with available dates.

Edited January 26 by Joey J J Jr Shabadoo

[henrysmithsgloves]

Just now, Jim_Duncan said:

A few months of communicating with SP, and he'll have that boat turned around and headed for the Albanian coastline faster than you can 'customer service shitemare'.

True 🤣🤣

[Lone Striker]

54 minutes ago, Joey J J Jr Shabadoo said:

You can have my full postcode, Dalkeith EH22 3BA.

 

I did receive emails beforehand,  and when I booked it there was a calendar with available dates.

CHeers.  Well, at least they've given better cust service  to you than they've done to me and Jim.  Hope the install goes well. 👍   

[Joey J J Jr Shabadoo]

2 hours ago, Lone Striker said:

CHeers.  Well, at least they've given better cust service  to you than they've done to me and Jim.  Hope the install goes well. 👍   

Thanks. I suppose they haven't actually installed it, yet, but I don't have asbestos so here's hoping.

[Lone Striker]

2 minutes ago, Joey J J Jr Shabadoo said:

Thanks. I suppose they haven't actually installed it, yet, but I don't have asbestos so here's hoping.

Another wee question. Is your current meter a single-rate or 2-rate or 3-rate meter ?     in other words, does it give you just 1 or 2 or 3 figures ?

 

I've been trawling through MoneySaving Expert's chat forum for "electric meter/RTS ending" posts - lots of confusing and techie stuff, but one that seems to gets several mentions is that replacing a 3-rate meter with a smart meter  is somehow more complex (verging on impossible ), compared to the other 2   (thats what I think they're saying anyway).   

 

CHeers

[Joey J J Jr Shabadoo]

51 minutes ago, Lone Striker said:

Another wee question. Is your current meter a single-rate or 2-rate or 3-rate meter ?     in other words, does it give you just 1 or 2 or 3 figures ?

 

I've been trawling through MoneySaving Expert's chat forum for "electric meter/RTS ending" posts - lots of confusing and techie stuff, but one that seems to gets several mentions is that replacing a 3-rate meter with a smart meter  is somehow more complex (verging on impossible ), compared to the other 2   (thats what I think they're saying anyway).   

 

CHeers

Here's my meter, probably easier to post a photo

[Lone Striker]

1 hour ago, Joey J J Jr Shabadoo said:

Here's my meter, probably easier to post a photo

Thanks.  Its very different to mine (below).   Yours has a single usage figure, presumably calculated  by adding  day & night rate  usage plus any usage  on additional circuits like a boiler or storage heaters.

 

Mine has only 1 display window too, but you press the blue button to bring up the "next" total  (3 separate totals are held by the meter)

 

The more I read, the less I understand !!  😏

 

 

 

Edited January 26 by Lone Striker

[Jim_Duncan]

32 minutes ago, Lone Striker said:

Thanks.  Its very different to mine (below).   Yours has a single usage figure, presumably calculated  by adding  day & night rate  usage plus any usage  on additional circuits like a boiler or storage heaters.

 

Mine has only 1 display window too, but you press the blue button to bring up the "next" total  (3 separate totals are held by the meter)

 

The more I read, the less I understand !!  😏

 

 

 

That's just like mine, bud.

[Lone Striker]

1 hour ago, Jim_Duncan said:

That's just like mine, bud.

👍

 

  I made some progress with Scottish Power via their online chat  tonight (spent 20 mins trying to get past their bloody ChatBot first   🤬).    The human support person was quite helpful - checked my post code and found that the area is currently "being prepared for Smart meters".  Something technical that I didn't understand - anyway, that's why it won't let me book an appointment yet despite the message "Good news.. we're installing Smart Meters in your area......".       Seems they've jumped the gun a bit with that message !!.  😃 Anyway the support person assured me I'm in the queue and they'll contact me by phone or email as soon as the "preparations" are complete.   I mentioned the RTS switch-off at the end of March - the person suggested I get back in touch via Chat at the start of March when they'll know if its being extended or not.   Leaving it a bit late, imo

 

So I suggest you  log into your online account and try to book a Smart Meter appointment. If it doesn't let you, do an online Chat - the ChatBot seems to recognise the command "Talk to a person" after clicking on its option for Smart Meter as the subject  first.    You'll probably have to wait 10-20 mins till a human replies. They'll ask for your address & account number - the post code determines the wider area they need to have "prepared" before letting you book an appointment.

 

Hope that makes some sense.      I've found  their support people quite helpful (once you get through on Chat) - its just their website design and functionality thats sh1te  😀

 

 

[Jim_Duncan]

Cheers. Yeah, I actually tried their live chat last night after you posted (they're open until 11pm), but gave up after no-one answered.

 

I'm away all of February, so hopefully will arrive back to a message about either a) a smart meter being installed or b) the teleswitch being continued.

 

What a nonsense. These 3 metered systems are a nightmare. My previous tariff ended at the end of Dec last year (2 years with no Ukraine/Russia price rises) and the increase has been noticeable. Still refuse to pay by DD, as that's a total scam. Would love to just move onto a normal tariff and get rid of the storage heaters, but can't be arsed doing all the legwork.

[Lone Striker]

22 hours ago, FWJ said:

Thanks for the heads up. This is the first I’ve heard of it.

 

It sounds like I’ve got one of these meters - storage heaters come on at night.

I was supposed to have a smart meter installed over a year ago but the guy took one look at the meter (in a box in the hall outside the flat) and said he couldn’t touch it because the backboard was asbestos.

Haven’t heard a word since AND haven’t heard a cheep from eon about this automatic signal change.

 

 

Asbestos - ouch !  Sounds like your options are a bit limited.  Might be a good idea to get an electrician to look at how your storage heaters are wired into your meter - he should be able to detect if there's a wee box which receives the RTS signal and triggers an "on" or "off" of your storage heaters.     Just a thought - its possible that the on/off is triggered by a timer device either at the heaters or beside the meter i.e. not dependant on the RTS signal ?     

15 hours ago, vegas-voss said:

My mum has one of these think it's system 3 she has it's storage heaters.She has a smart meter being installed middle of February will that make a difference.

If her supplier has already sent round a technician to look at the current meter configuration, he should be aware of what rewiring may need to be done.     Its a bit of a grey area though - the supplier is trying to get through thousands of installs asap, so won't want the installers getting bogged down in intricate  customised wiring configurations ..... but at the same time the install has to be safety-checked.    If the guy has already been out but hasn't mentioned that another electrician needs to do some preparatory rewiring first, then she should be ok.

 

 

[vegas-voss]

7 hours ago, Lone Striker said:

Asbestos - ouch !  Sounds like your options are a bit limited.  Might be a good idea to get an electrician to look at how your storage heaters are wired into your meter - he should be able to detect if there's a wee box which receives the RTS signal and triggers an "on" or "off" of your storage heaters.     Just a thought - its possible that the on/off is triggered by a timer device either at the heaters or beside the meter i.e. not dependant on the RTS signal ?     

If her supplier has already sent round a technician to look at the current meter configuration, he should be aware of what rewiring may need to be done.     Its a bit of a grey area though - the supplier is trying to get through thousands of installs asap, so won't want the installers getting bogged down in intricate  customised wiring configurations ..... but at the same time the install has to be safety-checked.    If the guy has already been out but hasn't mentioned that another electrician needs to do some preparatory rewiring first, then she should be ok.

 

 

Nobody has been out already just the guy that checks the meter every three months

[Lone Striker]

3 hours ago, vegas-voss said:

Nobody has been out already just the guy that checks the meter every three months

My understanding is that someone comes out first to assess the complexity of the current wiring from the meter, before an installer/electrician actually comes out to the work.  I guess she should make sure that first guy knows about the storage heaters & on/off times.

[vegas-voss]

2 minutes ago, Lone Striker said:

My understanding is that someone comes out first to assess the complexity of the current wiring from the meter, before an installer/electrician actually comes out to the work.  I guess she should make sure that first guy knows about the storage heaters & on/off times.

Will do that for her when I am up on Tuesday to see her.Thanks 👍

[Scallywag]

Spare a thought us up in Shetland. Off gas area so vast majority rely on storage heating. We already pay the highest rates for electricity in UK, ironically on an island covered in windfarms exporting to the mainland. 

 

Fuel poverty is off the scale and this switch off could be a disaster if people suddenly dont have access to tarrifs. There has been next to no roll out of smart meters and utility companies have no one based locally to even carry out repairs.

 

Complete shambles and Ofgem and UK government don't seem to have any influence on the companies or don't care.

Edited January 27 by Scallywag

[Joey J J Jr Shabadoo]

33 minutes ago, Scallywag said:

Spare a thought us up in Shetland. Off gas area so vast majority rely on storage heating. We already pay the highest rates for electricity in UK, ironically on an island covered in windfarms exporting to the mainland. 

 

Fuel poverty is off the scale and this switch off could be a disaster if people suddenly dont have access to tarrifs. There has been next to no roll out of smart meters and utility companies have no one based locally to even carry out repairs.

 

Complete shambles and Ofgem and UK government don't seem to have any influence on the companies or don't care.

Scotland exports its energy, but Scottish bill payers subsidise English and Welsh bill payers.

[Scallywag]

5 hours ago, Joey J J Jr Shabadoo said:

Scotland exports its energy, but Scottish bill payers subsidise English and Welsh bill payers.

Absolutely correct. Electricity prices are also tied to gas to subsidise cheap gas. Off gas areas like the Highlands and Islands are paying the highest costs, have limited alternatives and the coldest climates. Its a scandalous situation.

[Joey J J Jr Shabadoo]

30 minutes ago, Scallywag said:

Absolutely correct. Electricity prices are also tied to gas to subsidise cheap gas. Off gas areas like the Highlands and Islands are paying the highest costs, have limited alternatives and the coldest climates. Its a scandalous situation.

👍

[FWJ]

On 27/01/2024 at 00:10, Lone Striker said:

Asbestos - ouch !  Sounds like your options are a bit limited.  Might be a good idea to get an electrician to look at how your storage heaters are wired into your meter - he should be able to detect if there's a wee box which receives the RTS signal and triggers an "on" or "off" of your storage heaters.     Just a thought - its possible that the on/off is triggered by a timer device either at the heaters or beside the meter i.e. not dependant on the RTS signal ?     

If her supplier has already sent round a technician to look at the current meter configuration, he should be aware of what rewiring may need to be done.     Its a bit of a grey area though - the supplier is trying to get through thousands of installs asap, so won't want the installers getting bogged down in intricate  customised wiring configurations ..... but at the same time the install has to be safety-checked.    If the guy has already been out but hasn't mentioned that another electrician needs to do some preparatory rewiring first, then she should be ok.

 

 

I phoned eon - spoke to someone really helpful - he advised that it was (as you suggested above) on a timer and wouldn’t be affected.

He also said that it would be SSE that was responsible for replacing the backboard - but it isn’t really a priority because of the meter type.

 

Thanks again for bringing this to people’s attention though!

[FWJ]

21 hours ago, Scallywag said:

Spare a thought us up in Shetland. Off gas area so vast majority rely on storage heating. We already pay the highest rates for electricity in UK, ironically on an island covered in windfarms exporting to the mainland. 

 

Fuel poverty is off the scale and this switch off could be a disaster if people suddenly dont have access to tarrifs. There has been next to no roll out of smart meters and utility companies have no one based locally to even carry out repairs.

 

Complete shambles and Ofgem and UK government don't seem to have any influence on the companies or don't care.

Same in Ft Wm.  No gas supply so it’s electric or oil & gas tanks.  Yet smaller / more remote places like Oban or Stornoway do get gas.  Never understood that.

[Joey J J Jr Shabadoo]

On 26/01/2024 at 20:17, Lone Striker said:

Thanks.  Its very different to mine (below).   Yours has a single usage figure, presumably calculated  by adding  day & night rate  usage plus any usage  on additional circuits like a boiler or storage heaters.

 

Mine has only 1 display window too, but you press the blue button to bring up the "next" total  (3 separate totals are held by the meter)

 

The more I read, the less I understand !!  😏

 

 

 

I had my smart meter installed this morning.  Guy came at the back of 9, and had finished by about 11:30, power was off for about 30 minutes.

 

My gas and electricity meters are next to each othe soall OK. The guy said some people have them located in different parts of their home and that can cause problems (as both meters talk to each other).

 

So far it is good, and vastly superior to the smart meter my mum has that requires someone to come out and read it.

[Lone Striker]

5 hours ago, Joey J J Jr Shabadoo said:

I had my smart meter installed this morning.  Guy came at the back of 9, and had finished by about 11:30, power was off for about 30 minutes.

 

My gas and electricity meters are next to each othe soall OK. The guy said some people have them located in different parts of their home and that can cause problems (as both meters talk to each other).

 

So far it is good, and vastly superior to the smart meter my mum has that requires someone to come out and read it.

Good news.   👍    Was that Scottish Power that did the work ?

 

Maybe your Mum's in an area where the mobile signal isn't reliable, so someone has to come out instead ?    

 

 

[Joey J J Jr Shabadoo]

9 hours ago, Lone Striker said:

Good news.   👍    Was that Scottish Power that did the work ?

 

Maybe your Mum's in an area where the mobile signal isn't reliable, so someone has to come out instead ?    

 

 

I ordered it through my SP account, but it was a smart meter installation company that did the job.

 

My mum's is at least 10 years old. I have a second screen that shows my usage, cost per hour, day, etc. My mum doesn't,  I'm guessing that's the problem.

 

Edit to add, gas was off for 30 minutes too. As long as you're not baking it's fine.

Edited February 13 by Joey J J Jr Shabadoo

[Radio Ga Ga]

The 'switch off' has been delayed for 12 months to March '25

[Lone Striker]

On 15/02/2024 at 11:12, Radio Ga Ga said:

The 'switch off' has been delayed for 12 months to March '25

Yep, saw that yesterday too.  Apparently the BBC have been trying to switch it off since 2014, but the energy companies keep objecting because they're way behind on replacing meters and/or providing alternative solutions, so it keeps getting pushed into the future.

 

Still no actual news about this from the useless Scottish Power customer comms dept. 😠

 

   

 

ts the 

[Jim_Duncan]

22 minutes ago, Lone Striker said:

Yep, saw that yesterday too.  Apparently the BBC have been trying to switch it off since 2014, but the energy companies keep objecting because they're way behind on replacing meters and/or providing alternative solutions, so it keeps getting pushed into the future.

 

Still no actual news about this from the useless Scottish Power customer comms dept. 😠

 

   

 

ts the 

There are times when I think SP would be shocked to discover they actually supply electricity.