[PeterT_EONNext]

The radio signal that controls some types of meters is being switched off.

At the time of writing, E.ON Next alone still supplies 59,063 meters that are controlled via the Radio Teleswitch.

This signal is controlled by the BBC for all of these types of meters across the UK. The signal is now outdated and the BBC will be switching this off very soon, which will affect the way that your meter functions if the meter set up you have relies on this.

Is this something that will impact me?

The issue will only apply to those on a non-smart, classic style meter. When the signal is switched off, your meters time function will slowly drift out of sync which is pre-set on the meter and controlled via this signal, meaning that if you have heating controls that rely on the time switching on your meter (Economy7/Economy10) your heating may not functioning as intended, as the timings you're used to having set up, will be out.

An impact of this could also result in being charged on the wrong tariff rate, so your usage may be being charged on your day rate instead of your usual lower night rate when this falls out of sync.

How do I know if my meter needs to be changed?

E.ON Next will be in touch with you directly if you're affected, as we know which meters are controlled via this signal. You may receive a text or an email to state that we need to replace your meter with a Smart Meter so that you can still use your heating during the correct switching times on Economy 7/Economy 10.

What if I don't want a Smart Meter?

Smart Meters are a fantastic way to not only retain this functionality of your heating set up, but also to monitor your usage. I would encourage you to have your meter changed to a Smart Meter if you're affected by the above mentioned issue.

Traditional non-smart meters that sync via the Radio Teleswitch isn't something that we're able to offer, due to them only being controlled by the RTS, which of course, will be switched off. This means, that if you don't want to have a Smart Meter, E.ON Next won't be able to assist you in the control of when your heating is on or off, if controlled previously via the Radio Teleswitch signal.

When will this all be happening?

Tariff switching controlled by long wave radio signals on BBC services will no longer be available after 31st March 2024.

[meldrewreborn]

@PeterT_EONNext

May I comment that the demise of the RTS signal has been known about for quite some considerable time - but that date is now only 2 months away

Given that Eon Next seem to know exactly how many meters will suffer reduced accuracy, isn't there a slam dunk case that action to replace those meters should have been initiated many months ago? Something like 450,000 smart meters nationally are installed each quarter (from Government statistics) and in 2 months that would be around 300,000. So I'm hazarding a guess that if say Eon Next has 20% of the domestic electricity market that would equate to 60,000 meter replacements - which is almost exactly the number of meters that you say rely on this RTS signal.

So it could take the entire capacity of Eon Next's meter replacement capacity to do all the necessary exchanges in the next two months.. Granted, I'm using some intelligent guesses in all this , but I'll wager that I'm not all that far out.

Perhaps in the spirit of openness you'd like to tell us how many RTS based meters were exchanged in each quarter of 2023, so we can see whether Eon Next has been proactive in dealing with this problem or not as the case might be.

I'm not getting at you personally @PeterT_EONNext in all this but I feel its necessary to very pointedly flag up that this could be a scandal in the making.

[meldrewreborn]

450,000 Electric smart meters quarterly. So excluding gas smart meters, which are irrelevant to this RTS issue.

[PeterT_EONNext]

Sorry @meldrewreborn after re-reading, I can see that my first sentence does make it sounds like we're only just taking some form of action on getting these meters replaced, I've changed this now to what you see below.

Originally Posted by PeterT_EONNext

At the time of writing, E.ON Next alone still supplies 59,063 meters that are controlled via the Radio Teleswitch.

E.ON Next have of course been contacting individuals with this particular set up throughout 2023, and booking in exchanges. I couldn't tell you the figures right now as to how many have already been changed though 🤔 (I may be able to get this from somewhere though in the interest of progress)

This post is more of just a reminder, as well as some additional communications will be sent out to those affected who still haven't had their meter changed, throughout this month and next.