RTS Shutdown Update July 2024
Hey! The name’s 186, Blastoise186 and I’m one of the Forum Volunteers who you’ve maybe seen helping around here. I’ve been working with OVO to get the most up to date information possible for you and they’ve passed over the following helpful updates and details.
One of the recent hot questions we’ve seen on the Forum (for a while now) is what’s happening to RTS meters. The RTS (Radio Teleswitch Service) is shutting down soon, which especially affects complex ones like THTC (Total Heat Total Control). I’ve covered this before in one of my older posts linked below – so check that out if you’re interested in why this is happening. That post already has many questions covered, so this one will focus purely on the next steps.
If you’re interested in what all the different meter types are/were - just ask below. Not sure if you’ve got RTS? No problem – give OVO a ring and they’ll be able to let you know. You can reach out to them here.
All caught up? Great, let’s get started on this latest update. This is the final piece of the puzzle - the hot off the press information about exactly what’s happening next.
I’d like to apologise for the extended delay in getting this out. While I can - and do - act independently of OVO, such critical content like this still has to be reviewed and approved before it can go live to make sure it’s as accurate as possible.
So without further ado, the big question…
I’ve got an RTS Meter, what are my options for smart meters?
Good question – as you may know, these meters can be pretty complex, but OVO have spent a good amount of time updating their systems to manage this change for their customers.
I’m pleased to finally reveal what OVO’s plans are for everyone with an RTS Meter, whether it be Economy 7, Economy 10, THTC (Total Heat Total Control), Total Living Control, Standard Economy & Heating Load, Heatwise, Storage Heating Control, Flexiheat, Superdeal or basically any other RTS Meter.
The long story short version is exactly what many of you wanted to hear - OVO will be contacting all RTS customers to sort the change to a non RTS meter. Even better, since everything will run locally and be controlled by the meter itself, your heating and hot water will continue to work even if the signal to the meter temporarily drops out.
But what will you get?
If you’re ready to upgrade and your meter is listed below as upgradeable, check out smart-booking.ovoenergy.com
With another supplier? Please contact their customer service team for this as OVO can only upgrade meters belonging to OVO customers.
Affected OVO supported RTS Meters/Tariffs
If you AREN’T in a LMA (Load Managed Area*) -
*A Load Managed Area is an area that's not as easy to maintain, like small islands or densely populated communities
Economy 7
Available now!
All customers with an Economy 7 (both RTS and Non-RTS) are eligible for smart meters. Everything else will stay the same - it’s just a straightforward meter swap in 99% of cases.
Economy 10
Available now!
OVO has just started to roll out Economy 10 support on smart meters. You should have already had a letter to arrange this change, if not, give OVO a call on 0330 303 5063.
All other RTS meters (THTC, Superdeal etc)
Coming Soon
Here are the 2 possible routes you could go down.
Coming Soon – Rollout with OVO starts around August 2024
Good news! In this situation, you can go for Economy 7, Economy 9, Economy 10 or a single rate meter - totally up to you. Your letter will invite you to call OVO’s specialist team who are on hand to discuss the set up within your property. They’ll help you come to a decision that best suits your lifestyle.
As part of the process, your THTC meters will be taken out and replaced with a shiny new smart meter (where possible) running on whichever tariff you picked.
If you ARE in a Load Managed Area
Coming soon! Waiting for an availability estimate
For this small group in Northern Scotland, I’m afraid you’ll have to remain on THTC at this time due to the DNO restrictions that are still in effect. However, you’re still going to get smart meters as promised - OVO are working on a solution for you and will post more information as soon as possible
RTS Meters/Tariffs from other suppliers
No details yet - feel free to help me build this out. If you’re with any other supplier and have info on what’s happening to your meter, feel free to post the details below and if it looks good, I’ll add it here - with full credit of course.
What if I don’t want a smart meter and/or refuse to have the upgrade?
If you don’t want the upgrade, then the RTS Service will eventually end regardless, and I’m really sorry, but I can’t guarantee what’ll happen to your heating and/or hot water, so I strongly recommend against taking that risk. These changes must happen and must happen soon.
All I can say is that many of these RTS Meters are getting older now, and while the designers did include fail-safes to cover RTS Service outages, these were only designed for short-term outages - not a total and permanent shutdown. Just as I can’t guarantee what’ll happen to your heating and hot water, OVO can’t guarantee how long the fail-safe will last for - or if it’ll even work at all on your specific meter.
Forum Volunteers on The OVO Forum may also be unable to provide advice and support for these meters post end-of-life to the same extent as we have previously, which means we’ll probably recommend you go direct to smart meters. We’ll still try to help out if we can - but our options would be limited.
If you have any further questions, please do leave a comment and one of the OVO moderators will chase this up for us.
