Pensioners are at risk of death or illness as hundreds of thousands of homes across the UK could lose access to hot water and heating due to a switch in energy meters, campaign groups have warned.
Up to 300,000 households will be left with old-style Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS) energy meters after they are switched off on 1 July to make way for a nationwide smart meter rollout, End Fuel Poverty Coalition said.
Advocacy group coordinator Simon Francis said if the RTS meter, which is used to control heating and hot water, was not replaced by this date, households risked losing access to heating and hot water.
“Leaving elderly people with no way of heating their homes is unacceptable,” he told The Independent. “We are going to see sanitation issues and the rise of illnesses. Elderly people will be susceptible to dying in cold damp homes if these meters are not replaced by winter.”
Jan Shortt, General Secretary, National Pensioners Convention said many of those living in the 300,000 homes affected by the RTS meters switch-off will be older people.
“A good proportion may not even be aware they have such a meter, or if they do, won’t know they are about to be switched off,” she said.
Around 1,000 replacement smart meters are being installed every day, but End Fuel Poverty said this was not enough to replace all of the RTS meters in time.
Mr Francis urged the government to “face up to the looming crisis” and “ramp up” efforts to help people across the UK make the switch to smart meters.
“With pressures on the replacement programme growing and with limited engineer availability, especially in rural areas, there’s a real risk of prolonged disruption, particularly for vulnerable households,” he added.
“There is a very real risk that over 300,000 households will find their RTS meter stops working properly come 1 July 2025.”
A Department of Energy Security and Net Zero spokesperson said the technology behind the Radio Teleswitch Service was reaching the end of its operational life and “is due to be switched off from June 2025.”
“Industry must work urgently to continue to increase the pace of replacements. We are supporting Ofgem and energy suppliers to ensure the transition is as smooth as possible for consumers,” the spokesperson said.
An Ofgem spokesperson said the RTS upgrade programme was “an urgent consumer welfare issue and Ofgem is determined to explore every avenue to ensure that customers are protected when this ageing 40-year-old technology is phased out from 30 June 2025.”
“Ofgem set up a taskforce alongside Energy UK, bringing together suppliers and the wider sector to accelerate the rate of meter upgrades to its highest level yet, and solve complex technical barriers posed in certain remote regions,” the spokesperson said.
“In recent weeks we have seen evidence of suppliers significantly stepping up their activity in these remote areas, such as the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, and solutions to improve smart meter connectivity in the north have been launched.
The spokesperson said the government was urging any customers struggling to get their RTS meter replaced to contact their supplier again to arrange an appointment.
“Ofgem has also demanded action plans from every supplier, which we are scrutinising on an ongoing basis to ensure that robust contingencies are in place to protect any customers who remain on RTS meters after the phased switch-off process begins,” the spokesperson said.
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