Thousands of RTS meters still need replacing

With just weeks to go, I've called for urgent action to prepare for the Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS) switch-off as new figures show that with just weeks to go there are thousands of meters that still to be replaced in North East Fife but less than 30 per day are being replaced.

The Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS), used by energy suppliers for some electricity meters, particularly in rural areas, to control heating and hot water systems, is set to end on 30 June 2025. At this point affected households face having their heating and hot water stuck either off or on.

According to Ofgem figures, provided by Energy Action Scotland to the Scottish Liberal Democrats, as of 18th April, there were 5075 meters still needing to be exchanged in the KY post code area, and 7540 meters in the DD post code area, both of which encompass many homes in North East Fife. This is a decrease from 5251 (KY) and 7872 (DD) on 4th April and 5400 (KY) and 8202 (DD) on 21st March. This suggests that if the current trend continues, the backlog of meters will not be completed for an average of 400 days.

The Liberal Democrats have called on the UK Government to require energy suppliers to compensate any household that requested a replacement meter before the shutdown but never received one.

Today in Parliament, I highlighted the case of one of my constituents who was scheduled to have her meter changed after desperately trying to get it changed for three years but no one showed up. Her husband has cancer, and the elderly couple are extremely worried about the possibility of being left without heating.

We have just weeks until the deadline, and this shows that firms are not taking this seriously. No one should be left without basic hot water or heating.

We have been promised technological fixes in advance of the switch off, yet we are, at the fifty ninth minute of the eleventh hour, still finding that there has been limited development in technology or greater connectivity to the smart meter signal.

I urge Fife Council to ready themselves for any potential adverse outcomes of the RTS switch-off which may include thousands of homes without heating and hot water.

Another short extension of the deadline will not solve the issue and if the switch-off is in autumn or winter the problems it will cause would be exacerbated by cold weather.

Energy companies must increase their efforts to exchange all outstanding meters ahead of the deadline and be prepared to compensate anyone in North East Fife who has requested a new meter but loses out as a result of this bungled switch over.