Nearly 500,000 households across England, Scotland and Wales are being warned that they need to replace their outdated energy meters. The meters, known as Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS), date back to the 1980s and will be ‘switched off’ on June 30, 2025.

They use a radio signal to tell some older electricity meters when to switch between peak and off-peak rates. RTS allows energy suppliers to offer different tariff rates so that consumers can make use of cheaper off-peak tariffs to charge their heating and/or hot water systems up overnight.

RTS was introduced in the 1980s, and is now reaching the end of its natural operational life. This means that the equipment that produces the radio signal can’t be adequately maintained anymore.

All electricity suppliers are contacting impacted customers to offer them a smart meter upgrade before the RTS service ends.

GB News reported that local councils have also been issuing urgent warnings to residents about the impending switch-off and that Glasgow council plans to deploy door knockers to reach affected customers, while Leicester council has also sent warnings to about 4,000 residents thought to need an upgrade.

Councillor Ruairi Kelly, convener for housing and development at Glasgow City Council, said: “It’s really important that anyone with one of these meters has it replaced, as it could lead to them not being able to use their heating.”

How to find out if you’ve got an RTS meter

If you’re not sure whether you have an RTS meter, there are a few things you can look out for:

• there may be a separate switch box near your meter with a radio teleswitch label on it
• your property is heated using electricity or storage heaters
• there is no gas supply to your area. This includes households in rural areas and high-rise flats
• you get cheaper energy at different times of day. Your tariff might be: Economy 7, Economy 10 or Total Heat Total Control

If you are unsure if you have RTS equipment, contact your electricity supplier.