THTC / Separate Radio Teleswitch and Meter- Can I get a smart meter?

Hi, I have THTC and am currently with Octopus. They seem to have no knowledge of the THTC system and can only offer Economy 7 as an alternative. I have tried contacting OVO about changing supplier to them but the person I spoke to on the number for new customers knew nothing about THTC. Do OVO have a complex energy team like SSE had and if so what is their phone number. Thanks

Hiya! I also replied in your other thread btw.

OVO does indeed have such a team - you can ask to be transferred to them if you call the main number 0330 303 5063.

Unfortunately, only two suppliers are known to support THTC at the moment - OVO and Scottish Power. I’m not surprised that Octopus is clueless about it as it’s not in their interest to be taking on THTC setups.

Hey @ColinRG,

Blastoise has already given some helpful advice here, just wanted to add, we have a topic you may find helpful:

Hi, Thanks for the number and useful link.

Unfortunately none of the people I spoke to in either the new customers team or customer services knew about an Electric Heating Team or THTC. Do you have a direct number for them?

To give you some background I have THTC and the previous owner of the house left SSE and signed up with Octypus. All heating and water is on an off peak low tariff 24/7 with the rest of the electricity used on the standard tariff. I’d be happy to stay with this were it not for the threat of the RTS signal being switched off. Octypus can only offer me Economy 7 as an alternative which will be much more expensive and (I think) require rewiring. This is why I want to talk to OVO about signing up with them as it seems they have, or will have, a better alternative.

I’ll try and found out if OVO would take on a THTC customer at sign up @ColinRG.

I’m not sure if we would, I think the customers we have with THTC have been inherited from other suppliers. There isn’t yet a solution for these customers or an OVO tariff for THTC.

I imagine most THTC customers will be switched to Economy 7 plans and smart meters.

You can see all of our available plans on our Quote & Switch webpage. 

There is this tool

https://plans.ovoenergy.com/

You can filter to see which tariff are actually for sale. Not all the ones for sale are seemingly available on line. Do you need to phone up for these? 

THTC comes up for some postcodes as for sale

Thanks Emmanuelle,

My current supplier Octypus have suggested Economy 7 but it will be very expensive compared to THTC. I think it would also require some rewiring. We live in a house with three bedrooms and have dimplex pannel heaters as well as storage heaters. With THTC all the heating is on a low rate 24/7 as is the hot water.

My own view is that the RTS signal should not be switched off until a like for like alternative is available for those of us with THTC. According to Octypus, the  suppliers are negotiating to extend the life of the signal beyond Aril 2024. I hope this happens.

Efforts are being made on a replacement ASAP.

However, the sands of time ARE running out on the RTS Service. Droitwich Transmission Station is on the last set of Valves capable of running the equipment used for the BBC Radio 4 Longwave signal that the RTS Service relies on - and they’re made of glass. I can only promise you one thing about this. And that promise is that it’s a case of when and not if those Valves will blow. They have a finite service life and do not last forever.

Once those final Valves go bang, that’s it… Game Over. Replacements are impossible as the ability to manufacture more of them ceased to exist many years ago.

It wouldn’t matter what negotiations were agreed at that point - if there’s no Valves, then there’s no RTS Signal.

Thanks.

You’ve said in other threads that should the RTS stop the storage heaters and hot water would continue to operate based on the last time settings prior to RTS stopping. We also have pannel heaters and a hot water boost facility in the house. These are connected to the THTC meter and so also use off peak power. However they are not controlled by RTS in that their on/off times are controlled by us. Will they continue to function as normal if the RTS stops.?

Anything that’s NOT controlled by the meter would be completely unaffected. If memory serves, those other types of heater are probably on a 24/7 Off-Peak register and would continue to function as they do now.

Likewise, anything on the standard register also won’t be affected.