If you have electric heating, you may be one of the almost 1 million homes that have a Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS) meter. And on Monday 30 June 2025, the RTS will switch off. Unless you arrange a replacement with your energy supplier now, your heating and hot water may stop working. Here’s what you need to know.
RTS meters receive radio signals to switch between different electricity rates or turn certain appliances on or off at specific times.
They were mainly for:
However, the technology that creates the radio signal is outdated and will be switched off on 30 June 2025.
According to Ofgem, there are around 800,000 RTS meters across Great Britain that need replacing before 30 June 2025.
You might have an RTS meter if you:
Your electricity supplier might have been in touch with you already via letter about replacing your meter.
Get in touch with your electricity supplier as soon as possible and arrange to replace the meter. Your supplier must replace your meter to make sure there’s no disruption to your electricity supply.
Your supplier should upgrade you to a smart meter for free. If you can’t have a smart meter, it still has to replace your RTS meter with a suitable alternative.
You don’t pay anything to change your meter. If someone contacts you and says you have to pay to change your meter, this is a scam. Read our energy scams guide for more information on what to do.
If your supplier says it can’t replace your meter before 30 June 2025, you can make a complaint. Ofgem has more advice on making a complaint to your energy supplier.
That depends on your supplier, who should tell you what your tariff options are before you have the new meter installed.
In many cases, you can keep your existing tariff when switching to a smart meter.
Unlike other meters, smart meters can automatically adjust when your circuits switch on and off, based on your tariff. Without one, these times must be manually set and fixed. This is a less flexible system and may mean you need to change tariff.
With a smart meter installed, you’ll:
For more information, read our guide to smart meters.
If you’re not able to get a smart meter yet, or you’d prefer not to have one, that’s okay. But if you have an RTS meter, it still needs to be replaced.
Once the RTS system ends, eventually your meter won’t be able to switch between rates properly. To keep your tariff working as it should, especially if you’re on Economy 7 or similar, your meter must be replaced.
Speak to your energy supplier about your options. In some cases, they may offer to install smart meter technology but disable the communications function. This means it won’t send readings automatically, so it won’t act like a fully ‘smart’ meter.
If you pay the energy bills directly and the account is in your name, you can arrange a smart meter upgrade yourself. You don’t need your landlord’s permission to replace the meter, but it’s still a good idea to let them know. This is especially important if they manage things like heating or tariff choices.
If your landlord pays the energy bills (for example, in a fully inclusive rent), then it’s up to them to sort out the meter replacement. In that case, ask them about their plans to replace the RTS meter.
Either way, it’s important that someone arranges a replacement to keep your heating and tariff working properly.
If your supplier doesn’t replace your meter by 30 June 2025, your heating and hot water will likely be affected. They might:
You might see your energy bills go up as a result.
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Last updated: 30 April 2025