When will RTS meters stop working?

Thanks, that looks interesting.  I’ve attempted to contact British Gas to find out more but need a BG account number to do so.  I made one up but then found there were more than 300 (!) people ahead of me in the queue waiting to speak to someone so gave up.

You’ll never get through to BG that way. :D

They seem to deliberately do that to block the chat.

Hi, My supplier Octypus has told me that negotiations are ongoing to delay the RTS switch off until 2025. Does anyone have anymore information on this. I have THTC and there still does not seem to be a solution as to how the THTC system will work post RTS switch off. Thanks

Hi @ColinRG ,

I’m a forum volunteer here.

Officially, it’s still April 2024 and that’s probably not going to change soon. Ultimately, it’s going to happen sooner or later so it’s not a good idea to rely on it sticking around.

OVO has an Electric Heating Team that can give advice - you can ask to be transferred to them if you call 0330 303 5063. OVO is developing a Smart Meter based solution for THTC. I’ve seen it with my own eyes at their Bristol HQ so I know it’s in development. More details will be available once I’m allowed to share them publicly.

Colin

That’s very interesting.  I thought the end date for RTS was 31/12/23 (as referred to earlier in the topic) - which is why many of us were getting concerned that the cut off was close but no contact from OVO.  If its now April 2024 that gives us all a bit more time (and avoids disruption to heating during the winter).

I look forward to further details when you can release them - and hope that the tariff includes a cheap rate heating period during the afternoon as well as overnight (again as expressed by several  earlier in this topic).  Otherwise, it will be a big step backwards for electric heating.

Steve, 

The April 2024 date is quoted by most of the suppliers on their websites and also on the OFGEM site. There is some speculation in the press that the switch off will be delayed into 2025 but as Blastoise186  says above the official date is April 2024.

Personally I think the delay may well happen. Where I live (NE Scotland) there are many of us with the  old THTC system that relies on the RTS. My understanding is that there is no like for like replacement yet available for THTC (Economy 7 etc would be much more expensive).  Hence we need the signal to keep working. until a workable solution is found.

At last I have found someone in the same situation as myself (SteveUK)! I have been on Superdeal for over 25 years & like Steve I need that top up in the afternoon to make good use of our storage heaters. We have 2 meters to run the Superdeal tariff. One meter gives 3 readings (day, night & stored (our water)) & the second meter gives a reading for the storage heaters. SSE has never appeared to understand the system & frequently messed up the bills with way out estimates. It has now taken over 2 months to migrate to OVO & my account is still not sorted out! They appear also to be utterly lost in regard to Superdeal even though it is listed on their website as a tariff! The welcome letter from OVO stated nothing would change from SSE but already with the new account still not yet running changes seem in inevitable going forward. About to send all the details to  the Ombudsman to see if he can sort it out!

Superdeal is a legacy tariff type that - as far as I can tell - has no future. You’ll need to accept that you might get booted off of it at some point. OVO will discuss that with you first though.

FYI this is coming from me as a forum volunteer here. I’m not an OVO staffer so can’t give official answers.

Trying to discuss anything with OVO is a chore! Migrated from SSE over 2 months ago & account still not set up!

I find Live Chat far easier to work with than going in by phone. It also gives the agents an easier time as they can refer back to the conversation by scrolling back through the chat, rather than having to memorise all of what has been said so far.

Both SSE & now OVO seem so confused about the system I have (& had for 25+ years!) of Superdeal run with 2 meters that all forms of contact with them, including Live Chat appear to be getting nowhere. As I said over 2 months so far to migrate & still not sorted. Can I be the only person with Superdeal run with 2 meters, one giving 3 readings & the other giving the reading for our storage heaters? Seems to have baffled them all completely so if moving from Superdeal what could be offered.

If you phone 0330 303 5063 during the week, you’ll probably get through directly to the team responsible for your meter setup.

They can advise on an upgrade path as well

I’ve had a letter from OVO claiming my Economy 7 meter will stop working at some unspecified time because ‘it uses a long wave radio signal to switch between peak and off peak times’. This apparently is the same signal that powers BBC Radio 4 on long wave and is due to be switched off. Therefore I have to have a smart meter installed. 

This is surely garbage isn’t it? An early April Fool joke? There are over four million faulty smart meters in the country which enable energy firms to overcharge. I’ve said no thanks unless and until this one does give up the ghost.

Hi @Brian N ,

Actually, it’s completely true. The letter is genuine.

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

If you don’t act soon, your heating and hot water WILL stop working properly. You also run the risk that your heating/hot water won’t work at all.

Additionally, due to the reason for needing the Meter Exchange, any Smart Meter Opt-Out preferences will not apply as this is considered critical. Even if you’ve opted-out and turned off all marketing preferences, OVO is permitted to override, ignore and bypass them in cases where action is required from you in order to keep the basic services working at all, such as in the case of the RTS Shutdown.

You are allowed to ignore these warnings if you so choose. HOWEVER, doing so is entirely at your own risk. If you choose to refuse and your heating/hot water later breaks down when the RTS Signal is turned off or breaks completely, you’ll only have yourself to blame and you won’t be able to complain to OVO for not telling you about it upfront.

As it so happens, I was walking past Droitwich Transmission Station the other day and I noticed there was a tower on the ground. Not sure if it’s been taken down recently, or taken down a long time ago - or if it’s just a random pile of scrap metal or a spare tower that just lives on site. Either way, the valves powering the RTS Signal will expire soon - and once they do, it’s game over.

I don’t live anywhere near that place - it just happens to be that I was in the area that day for my own reasons.

I’m sorry, but your options are upgrade to Smart Meters, or break your heating/hot water systems.

As for the four million thing? That’s not totally true - the media has bamboozled you. See this discussion for a more accurate figure:

• Is it true that 20% of smart meters don't work?

As for the April Fools jokes? There is only one user on the OVO Forum who’s ever been known for doing them - and that’s me. I would never pull one off related to something critical and in actual fact, I opted to not do one publicly the last couple of years as I felt doing so would have been in poor taste, mostly due to timing. Whether I return to that tradition this year remains to be seen.

Hi @Brian N 

As one of our volunteers has mentioned already, this is completely correct.

We’re working on a replacement solution at the moment and will update all impacted customers, and topic threads, when we have more information on such solution. 

The Radio Teleswich System shutdown is now due April 2025. We’ve got some similar topics on this that may be of interest to you:

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

I hope this has cleared things up for you a little more.

Yes, thanks for replies. Seems incredible. Why doesn’t it work on an old fashioned clock?

Some did, some didn’t. If you had one with a local timeswitch, you wouldn’t be affected and wouldn’t have had that letter. Alas, the meter you have is equipped with a Radio Teleswitch, meaning you are affected by the shutdown.

With that being said… If you had one with a local timeswitch and the timeswitch broke - and just like any mechanical thing, they do eventually fail - then you’d also be forced to have a Meter Exchange anyway. That too would result in a Smart Meter upgrade because there’s no other upgrade/replacement path these days. The only way is Smart, there’s no turning back now.

The reasons why two systems existed back then have never been made clear.

Hi Steve,

I am in exactly the same situation as you here in deepest Gloucestershire & very concerned about what will happen with my Superdeal setup. I have been in touch with OVO this week & all I can get out of them is ‘wait & see’! They say support is shortly going but offer no real reassurance that something like Superdeal with happen. As you say Economy 7 is useless for us in our older property with storage heaters. I guess we just have to wait until the new RTS cutoff next April!

I echo my advice once again.

OVO - in common with ALL other suppliers - is working on solutions to this. Please wait for updates which will be released as soon as possible.

All I can say is that Superdeal is probably not going to survive the transition.

So Economy 9 or 10 in Gloucestershire to replace Superdeal? 

More likely Economy 7 or 9 - but OVO will tell you what’s available when the time is right.

Hi @johndebs, 

I would echo what @Blastoise186 has advised so far. We are working on a solution but don’t have any timescales available. I know it can be frustrating to get a lack of answers, and I wish we had more information to share at this stage. 

We will contact those affected by the shutdown when we know more. If you have any specific questions, you can always contact our special team: 0330 303 5063. 

If you hear any updates, we encourage you to share them on this thread so that everyone can learn when more information is available. We are all learning together at this point 😊

Howdy! We are pleased to announce that we have new information available which can be shared openly. Please see the thread below for the latest updates.

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

On behalf of the OVO Forum Volunteers, we thank you for your patience.