RTS Switch off and Smart Meters

The above advice is correct I’m afraid @andykelp but we’ll update these topics when we get more information and updates. 

I live in a listed house, with economy 10 storage heaters. Unfortunately because it was two cottages 30yrs ago, it has two meters, so I already pay double standing charge rates! I am investigating rewiring some of the house so it just runs of one meter. Although it is in Sussex, there is no phone line, and no mobile signal from any of the networks. This does not seem likely to change in the near future. Ovo have told me that the house is not suitable for a smart meter in the past, so what am I going to do when the RTS switch off comes? It seems from various newspaper articles that there are about 700000 homes in the Uk with the same problem. I do have starlink, but I understand this is not suitable/reliable enough to run a smart meter. Any suggestions please, I had enough nightmares when I moved here with metering problems and getting the account set up with OVO. I still can’t send in meter readings online or in the app, and have to call every month with them. This has meant I have overpaid by £2000 this first year. It still costs £3000 p/a on economy 10 to run a house with 3 storage heaters and minimal usage!!! Our main source of heat is our logburner. Because the house is timber framed, with brick infill, 500 yrs old, I can’t put in a normal heating system and radiators. Any help or advice would be much appreciated.

Hi ​@directorhownhall ,

Really sorry to be a pain but I think I need to sleep on this one overnight. Are you OK if I come back to you in the morning? Others might still reply in the meantime though!

Yes please. It’s a bit of a complicated one! The main problem is if we can’t have a smart meter, what do we replace the current system with when the radio signal is turned off. Let alone finding an electrician who is capable of understanding the problem and fixing it our end with the set up. The joys of old houses and inheriting the work previously done. Than you in advance for any advice, trying to learn and get my head round the terminology as best I can!

You’re not alone in being in one of the places the smart meter network (the WAN) doesn’t reach. This is a common problem in, for example, rural areas in Scotland, where there are many RTS customers. OVO have devised a solution for these customers which requires you to decide which of the available options you’d prefer (e.g. single-rate, Economy 7 or Economy 10). The smart meter would then be pre-configured for the plan you want. You’d have to submit readings manually, e.g. once a month to ensure accurate billing. 

The wiring for the two parts of the property would have to be combined if it’s to have a single metered supply. That may not be as complicated as it sounds, unless some of it isn’t ‘up-to-code’, in which case an electrician may be bound to upgrade it. 

Workarounds for the lack of a mobile signal are being developed and deployed experimentally; it may be possible at some indeterminate date in the future to connect the meter to the WAN via your Starlink Internet connection, once the security concerns have been addressed. 

Sussex isn’t particularly sparsely populated; do you have neighbours within a couple of miles who may be more fortunate than you communications-wise? There is a way for a smart meter not on the WAN to communicate via another one that is, a so-called mesh arrangement.

Because the RTS signal is due to be switched off this summer, you really have no time to lose to get this all sorted out in time - there’s no knowing what will happen when RTS dies. Let us know what hurdles you’re facing; we may be able to make suggestions to surmount them.

Hi,

My current supply is with Octopus and I have Twinheat B meter controlled by RDS. For this reason I have to have a smart meter installed but when I questioned Octopus firstly they thought my off peak hours were all overnight and secondly they said I would only be able to have an Economy 7 meter with off peak all overnight.  I have heard that OVO can provide twinheat b smart meters.  Does anyone know if this is the case or can tell me how I go about keep my split off peak hours?  Current off peak is 9pm - 1 am & 12 MD to 3pm.  House is warm pretty much most of the day due to the split times but I’m afraid I will lose this with an Octopus smart meter. Any advice welcome.

Hi ​@Janiedotch ,

TwinHeat (an old Scottish Power exclusive tariff) won’t be supported at all by any supplier once the RTS Shutdown is complete and OVO isn’t supplying any meters that will work on that tariff anymore.

The only way to get split hours in most cases would be via Economy 10 which OVO is able to do, but can’t promise that for new customers.