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RTS new smart meter and choosing a tariff

  • February 11, 2025
  • 6 replies
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Hi

If you need a smart meter to replace an RTS meter you need to pick a tariff. Does anyone know how easy is it to change to a different tariff afterwards if you decide the one you chose is not for you?  What is involved in making a change?

Asking for a relative who we need to sort the new meter out for. They have storage heaters on at night. We booked an appointment and picked Economy 10 but I am not sure the night hours are long enough for the storage heaters so think we may need to do more research. I don’t know if Economy 7 still exists as an option for storage heaters.

Also, I know the leaflet says RTS is being switched off at the end of June (I think) but would it really affect electricity access after that date if you haven’t sorted it? I am sure that warning must have worried a great many people and surely the energy companies must have known about all this for a long while. What happens to the people they haven’t sorted by then as they seem to have hundreds of thousands to sort out?

 

 

Best answer by Firedog

It’s not really simple to decide between Economy 7 (E7) and Economy 10 (E10). I don’t think you’ve told us where your relatives live; this is vital information in this context because of the big difference in the offpeak hours from place to place. 

Yes, E10 gives more offpeak hours, at a bit higher rate than E7. Storage heaters won’t take more energy than they need, so there won’t necessarily be more consumption on that score. It’s a common complaint about storage heating that they work fine until they’ve  run out of steam sometime after lunch. This is when the afternoon offpeak period can be beneficial.

It’s also possible to do cooking and washing and hoovering in the early afternoon at the cheaper rate, and relax in front of the television with an electric fire close by for an extra bit of comfort later on.

There are many considerations.

 

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6 replies

Blastoise186
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  • Blastoise186Plan Zero Hero
  • Plan Zero Hero
  • 7961 replies
  • February 11, 2025

Hi ​@Myrtle ,

Economy 10 provides top-up boosts during the day which may help to extend how long the heaters last for before running out of puff in the evening. Depending on what you’ve got, that might be better than Economy 7 but both do indeed exist. However, changing between the two after you choose one of them is an absolute headache so it’s important to try and get it right first time - it’s not a simple tariff swap!

As for your other question, please bear with us. We are currently in discussions with the Forum Moderators to figure out how to answer that - this may take some time. We - as the Forum Volunteers - feel that we need OVO’s help to figure out some critical details and we’re unable to provide a direct answer at the moment. I’m really sorry we can’t help with that right now, but I promise you - we’re working on getting it!

RTS End of Support is set for 30th June 2025 though, that much we do know.

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way! Remember, I'm just like you - AI Powered Evil Geniuses aren't Staff!
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  • Myrtle
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  • February 11, 2025

Thank you :)

Blastoise186
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  • February 11, 2025

No worries. As it so happens, we only just started the backstage discussion ourselves this evening after the Forum Moderators had already gone home, but they’ll see it in the morning and hopefully pick it up for us.

The biggest snag is that pretty much anything I say about RTS stuff at this point is likely to be taken as being OVO’s “official word” even though it isn’t meant to be as it’s supposed to be just my personal thoughts and nothing more. Alas, many folks don’t do an amazing job of telling Forum Volunteers apart from OVO Staff (despite the clues!), so I kinda have to treat it with basically the same level of care (and caution!) that OVO itself does.

But if there’s anything else we can help you with, feel free to stop by anytime. :)

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way! Remember, I'm just like you - AI Powered Evil Geniuses aren't Staff!
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  • Emmanuelle_OVO
  • Community Manager
  • 2562 replies
  • February 12, 2025

Hey ​@Myrtle 

Welcome to the OVO Online Community 😊

I can see Blastoise has already given some really helpful responses here. I just wanted to add some topics which may be helpful to you:
 

 

Renewable Energy? Big Fan.
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    Myrtle
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  • February 13, 2025

Thanks for all the useful info.

 

I found out a bit more info. They are currently on the Variable Simpler Energy tariff. The storage heaters are currently on 12am until 7am.

 

They are away a lot so the house isn’t occupied much. I am a bit worried now that Economy 10 will be more expensive as I presume the heaters will come on more hours than before and that isn’t really needed and then they won’t be able to change tariff. 

 

 

Firedog
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  • FiredogPlan Zero Hero
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  • Answer
  • February 13, 2025

It’s not really simple to decide between Economy 7 (E7) and Economy 10 (E10). I don’t think you’ve told us where your relatives live; this is vital information in this context because of the big difference in the offpeak hours from place to place. 

Yes, E10 gives more offpeak hours, at a bit higher rate than E7. Storage heaters won’t take more energy than they need, so there won’t necessarily be more consumption on that score. It’s a common complaint about storage heating that they work fine until they’ve  run out of steam sometime after lunch. This is when the afternoon offpeak period can be beneficial.

It’s also possible to do cooking and washing and hoovering in the early afternoon at the cheaper rate, and relax in front of the television with an electric fire close by for an extra bit of comfort later on.

There are many considerations.

 

Noel | I have no official status; I'm just a volunteer who comes here to help other customers. My gear: Aclara SGM 1416-B Electricity-only E7 meter; Chameleon IHD3-PPMID-AAA | It may look as if I know what I’m talking about, but don’t let that fool you. |
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