2000 Fife RTS meters still to be replaced

Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS) meters receive radio signals to switch between different electricity rates or turn certain appliances on or off at specific times.

The radio signal created by this technology, however, is outdated, so these meters are now being phased out. On 30th June 2025, the UK Government was forced to row back on switching off every RTS meter because energy companies had failed to replace meters at the pace required.

If meters are switched off before they are replaced, households could be left with no heating or hot water. After scrapping the June deadline, the UK Government brought forward a phased switch-off instead.

A Scottish Liberal Democrat freedom of information request to Ofgem, found that as of 31st October, there were still 47,591 yet to be replaced across Scotland, around a third of all RTS meters still to be replaced across the UK. 30% of the meters in Scotland belong to vulnerable customers who are on the Priority Services Register.

Mr Rennie said: “These figures show that progress has been made in replacing RTS meters in Fife ahead of the phased shut-down of the system. However they also show that there remains a great deal of work to do.

“There is no excuse for energy companies. They have known for at least a decade that RTS meters were on their last legs, but they only started acting at the very last second.

“Energy companies urgently need to step up the pace at which they are replacing meters. They need to end the uncertainty hanging over those with RTS meters, including thousands of potentially vulnerable customers across Scotland.”