BBC switch-off forces 1m homes to get smart meters

ALMOST 1m households will be forced to fit a smart meter or face higher heating bills after the BBC announced it was switching off a 40-year-old radio service.

Around 900,000 customers on an Economy 7 or Economy 10 tariff where power is cheaper at night will no longer be able to use systems that rely on the Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS) – a longwave radio signal which tells meters when to change their fees from high to low. It means the only way to continue getting power on these billing plans will be using a smart meter, an internet-connected alternative.

The RTS system is common in homes and businesses that are off the gas network and use electricity for heating and hot water. They typically use tariffs such as Economy 7 or Economy 10 which offer cheaper power at night – with the RTS signal telling meters when to switch those tariffs on and off.

Installed in the 1980s, the RTS system is reaching the end of its operational life. The BBC has decided to turn it off in June 2025. Energy UK, a trade body for energy suppliers, has issued a warning to all customers because of a backlog in suppliers replacing RTS meters.

Dhara Vyas, the deputy chief executive of Energy UK, said consumers and suppliers should act now or risk their meter going offline so that customers lost the cheaper tariffs.

She said: “This will mean that customers continue to enjoy the benefits they currently get from RTS.”

The switch-off will affect customers across the UK – including 248,000 homes in Scotland, 232,000 in the Midlands and East Anglia, and 304,000 in London and southern England.

The BBC move is part of a wider plan to end all longwave broadcasts because they are energy intensive and longwave radio programmes lack the quality of FM. Its advantage was that longwaves can travel thousands of miles, meaning a single transmitter signal could reach every UK home. The RTS signal was broadcast daily from the BBC’s transmitter at Droitwich in Worcestershire.

Ofgem, the energy regulator, said: “We have written to suppliers to raise our concerns about the slower progress of installations for smart prepayment meters, and the potential impact of that on vulnerable households.”