From 1 August, all electricity suppliers must have a way for customers to tell them if their electricity stops working, with support available 24 hours a day1. The requirement is set out in guidance published by Citizens Advice, which advises households to check their supplier's website for how to make contact1.
The change sits alongside the replacement of radio teleswitch (RTS) and dynamically teleswitched (DTS) meters with smart meters, because the radio frequency these meters use to switch between peak and off-peak rates is being switched off1. Suppliers must tell customers before the frequency goes off in their area, which Citizens Advice says could be any time starting 30 June 20251.
Households most likely to have an RTS or DTS meter are those whose homes are heated using electricity, those with electric storage and water heaters, and those on a peak and off-peak rate for electricity1. The teleswitch may sit in the same box as the meter or in a separate box, usually black, printed with "radio teleswitch" or "radio telemeter"1. Citizens Advice notes that a meter which does not look like its examples may still be an RTS or DTS meter, and that households unsure whether theirs needs replacing should contact their supplier1.
On cost, Citizens Advice states that households will not have to pay their supplier to install a new meter, and that when a new meter is fitted the supplier has to offer a similar tariff to the current one1. If the smart meter needs to be in a different place from the old meter, there may be a charge for moving it, which the supplier will confirm1. Where signal is poor, a special type of smart meter may be needed, pre-set with the times for switching between peak and off-peak rates1.
"Your electric heating and hot water could stop working if you don't have your RTS or DTS meter replaced before the radio frequency is turned off."
Citizens Advice sets out what can follow if a meter is not replaced. Electric heating may stop working as expected, with hot water left on permanently or storage heaters drawing electricity at a more expensive time; the supplier may not know when electricity is being used and could charge a peak rate during off-peak hours; and the supplier may withdraw the RTS or DTS tariff and move the household to a single rate, ending the cheaper night rate1. Households with a shared RTS or DTS meter are told to contact whoever they pay for their energy, which could be a landlord or management company1.
Why it matters for households
A working route to report a supply failure is the first step in getting power restored, and the 24-hour requirement means the route has to be available outside office hours, when heating and hot water failures are most disruptive. For homes that depend on electricity for heat, a supply interruption is not only a loss of lighting and appliances but a loss of warmth and hot water.
The meter replacement programme bears directly on a household's control of its own energy costs. Time-of-use tariffs let a home shift demand to cheaper hours, and the automatic switching that RTS and DTS meters perform is what makes that possible without manual intervention. A move to a single rate tariff removes that ability, and the guidance states that a heating system left unchanged could end up costing more than expected1. Households can read more about how supply arrangements and energy suppliers and household energy independence fit together, and about the licensing rules that govern suppliers.
What happens next
Suppliers are expected to contact households about meter replacement, and should have told them how and when the meter will be replaced1. The radio frequency switch-off could begin any time from 30 June 2025, with suppliers notifying customers in advance of the date for their area1. Households that have not been contacted and want a smart meter are advised to ask their supplier1.
Sources1 cited
- If you have a radio teleswitch or dynamically teleswitched energy meter - Citizens Advice, citizensadvice.org.uk