Theme three: metering

Participants were asked about their knowledge and experience of changing meters. The RTS meter is a type of electricity meter that operates via long-wave radio technology. The technology that supports Radio Teleswitch (RTS) meters will end after 30 June 2025, and these focus groups were held in the run up to that date. Without the technology to tell RTS meters when to switch between peak and off-peak rates they will no longer work properly. In most cases RTS meters (and indeed other types of meters present in rural households) should be replaced with smart meters.

Radio teleswitch (RTS) meters

Participants overwhelmingly felt that there is a lack of public awareness about the RTS switch off and its consequences. It was felt that it has been poorly advertised, and participants had particular concerns for older and more vulnerable people who could be left without heating or with their heating permanently on. Those participants who did know about the switch off often only knew about it because they saw it on the Lorraine Kelly show. Some participants had been contacted by their supplier about the switch off and had assumed it was just telling them that they should get a smart meter. They did not want a smart meter so they binned the letter.

Participants who had attempted to get an RTS meter changed spoke about facing difficulties. They highlighted that contacting suppliers to discuss metering is not a straight forward process – you can spend hours on hold, being passed from one department to another without getting much help. They felt that energy suppliers don’t seem to know how to update or change old meters because there’s a lack of RTS experienced/trained people. Participants also discussed feelings of confusion. Some participants had received misinformation from energy suppliers who told them that because they are on the priority services register their electricity won’t be cut off. Others had struggled to identify if they had a meter impacted by the RTS switch off, and where participants had had engineers out to change meters, some had been told that they could not change two meters to one.

Where participants had attempted to have their meter changed, many struggled to get an appointment with an engineer. Where some did manage to get an appointment their appointment was cancelled or the engineer did not turn up. One participant was told by their supplier that if they wanted to change the meter they would need to change the wiring, which they would have to pay for themselves. The participant felt that if it’s not the consumer or supplier’s choice to turn off the signal then they should not have to pay for any upgrades.

One participant who had managed to have their RTS meter changed to a single rate meter now has a blank meter with no information displayed, and is also unable to access anything on their supplier’s website.

Smart meters

As with RTS meters, participants discussed challenges in getting a smart meter fitted. One participant said:

“It was over seven months of regular monthly calls to the energy provider, to firstly see if the meter type I had was suitable… [for] smart. Then once this happened around four months in it took around three months for an available engineer to attend.”

One participant described the stress the process of trying to get a smart meter has caused them:

“The added stress, anxiety, and time to call these utility companies is tiring and I cannot do it anymore. I have been fighting with them since November 2024 and now they say that they complain doesn’t exist.”

Another participant discussed waiting several months and having several appointments cancelled due to a “lack of engineers in the area”. The participant did note that now she has a smart meter she does find it slightly easier to budget for her energy use.

One participant who had been very wary of switching to a smart meter did so in the end. They thought it was going to be a very complicated process but it wasn’t for them. Now the participant doesn’t look at the in-home display if they don’t have to but finds that it does help with budgeting. As a pre-payment user it also means that they can top up easily now without having to put a key into the meter. While generally viewing the decision to get a smart meter as a good one, the participant did think that the approach used by their supplier to convince them to get a smart meter was “underhand” as it relied on misinformation about the RTS switch off.

Participants also discussed their inability to get a smart meter due to signalling issues:

“I live in what is considered rural Perthshire, although we are less than 20 minutes from major urban centres. However, I am unable to update or change my electricity meter to smart.”

Some participants got as far as having an engineer come to their home before they were told that they could not have a smart meter fitted because of the connectivity issue:

“I have a pre-programmed Economy 10 meter, however, whilst the Wi-Fi signal is strong, the mobile signal is very poor in this area. Therefore, when a smart meter was attempted to be installed the engineer was unable to commission this, and as such left the non-smart meter in place.”

Some participants had had smart meters installed but they were operating in ‘dumb’ rather than smart mode. These participants still receive estimated bills and are required to provide meter readings. Of those participants who had smart meters, some also said that they find the In-Home Display hard to read.

Participants in one focus group discussed the fact the many suppliers only offer better deals/tariffs to customers with smart meters. This was seen as unfair and unhelpful. One participant had taken a supplier to the Energy Ombudsman, who had found in the participant’s favour. However, the participant described the process of filing a complaint as “like a full time job”, noting that “people do not have time for this”.