rtf switch off, getting a smart meter in an area with no mobile signal

Hi ​@directorhownhall ,

If you live up north, Smart Meters won’t use the phone signal anyway - everything north of Manchester uses Long-Range Radio which is a completely different system.

If you need to do manual readings, you can take them the same way on a Smart Meter as any other - directly from the meter itself.

Thank you, we are in Sussex. It seems I will have to manually submit readings to OVO every month, but I am concerned as I have had a myriad of problems with them since I moved here 18months ago. Part of me thinks just keep the meter I’ve got and keep checking the times are correct, but eventually that is probably not going to work. It seems there are a lot of issues with giving manual readings for smart meters.

Manual readings are just as easy to submit for Smart Meters as for any other. You cannot keep the existing RTS Meter though - the swap is mandatory in this case.

If you refuse to swap, there is a risk of Disconnection because Ofgem seems keen to ban OVO from supplying you at all if you remain on RTS Meters post-shutdown. We cannot make any promises about whether Ofgem will actually enforce that though.

Hi ​@directorhownhall,

We’re in the process of putting fixes in place for those who can’t immediately have smart meters to replace their RTS meters due to things like signal issues. If you haven’t already been contacted by us to discuss the replacement, it would be worth you reaching out to our Support Team, who’ll be able to advise what the smart meter signal is like in your area. Sometimes the signal will be fine, even if your personal mobile signal isn’t strong.

Get in touch - they’ll be able to see what we can do for you. I also wanted to direct you to these previous Forum topics as they may be of help to you 👇

• RTS (Radio Teleswitch Service) Shutdown Update F.A.Q.

• Radio teleswitch (RTS) shutdown sunset FAQ F.A.Q.

• How to contact OVO - best practices and Data Protection Tutorial