Economy 7????

ex2t633w

I am 77 and a widow, and only just coping with leccy bills by using the "off-peak" hours of heating, then " heat the human" for the rest of the day.
Just heard (from ALIENERGY) that the radio- controlled support for my  ECONOMY 7 will be switched off on 31st March 2024.
Told Octopus,my supplier, and they just said you need an engineer to check your meter is fit for a smart meter , and if it isn't, you will need to pay to get it changed ?,!!
Is this right?
Or if I do nothing, will I then end up  paying  double by using Peak hours electricity?
There doesnt seem anyone to help with advice about this .??

la531983

Why wouldn't you be able to have a smart meter?

Just make the appointment and see what happens? 

QrizB

ex2t633w said:

Just heard (from ALIENERGY) that the radio- controlled support for my  ECONOMY 7 will be switched off on 31st March 2024.

Who is ALIENERGY? A friend, a journalist, a blogger?

ex2t633w said:

Told Octopus,my supplier, and they just said you need an engineer to check your meter is fit for a smart meter , and if it isn't, you will need to pay to get it changed ?,!!
Is this right?

If you have a radio teleswitch controlled E7 system, the radio signals are due to be turned off (although the date keeps being delayed). Do you know if your meter is a radio teleswitched one? What is the make and model?

If your meter is affected, the solution is to have your old meter replaced with a smart meter.

If you book an appointment with Octopus, they will send an enginer out and, if a smart meter can be fited, they will do so.

You can worry about "if it isn't" afterwards.

ex2t633w said:

Or if I do nothing, will I then end up  paying  double by using Peak hours electricity?

It's most likely that your radio teleswitch will continue to switch, even without the radio signal. But it might not, and some time in the next few years every non-smart meter will be replaced with a smart one anyway.

ex2t633w said:

There doesnt seem anyone to help with advice about this .??

There's quite a lot of help and support. ALIENERGY might have some.
Here's some advice from Ofgem:
https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/information-consumers/energy-advice-households/radio-teleswitch-electricity-meters-consumer-guidance

From Citizens Advice:
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/energy/energy-supply/your-energy-meter/dts-energy-meter/

From Octopus:
https://octopus.energy/help-and-faqs/articles/radio-teleswitch-service-rts/

And the other energy suppliers also have info.

From Ovo:
https://forum.ovoenergy.com/switching-suppliers-and-moving-home-144/radio-teleswitch-rts-shutdown-sunset-faq-9040

From British Gas:
https://www.britishgas.co.uk/business/help-and-support/connections-meters-readings/radio-teleswitch-service

From E.ON:
https://www.eonnext.com/radio-teleswitch-service-rts-is-closing

Does any of that help you?

Gerry1

Most unlikely that RTS will be switched off after 31 March 2024.  The contract has been extended several times and it will almost certainly be extended again: discussions are ongoing.  Octopus are talking ignorant scaremongering and you won't be charged anything for a replacement.

Even if it was switched off, it's unlikely you'd notice any difference.  It would be like forgetting to set a digital watch by the pips.  After a year it might be five minutes adrift but that's probably the worst that could happen.

Just do nothing and relax.  You'll be contacted in good time if/when anything needs to be done.

Jonboy_1984

Gerry1 said:

Most unlikely that RTS will be switched off after 31 March 2024.  The contract has been extended several times and it will almost certainly be extended again: discussions are ongoing.

The issue with the RTS service is it apparently piggybacks off a unique system that relies on analogue valves that haven’t been manufactured for several decades, and they are apparently down to 2 spare valves, at some point an extension won’t be possible.

Spoonie_Turtle

This is not in answer to your question but I am slightly concerned.  Do you have storage heaters, and if so, are they the old and leaky ones?  That's the only reason I can think of that you would be both on Economy 7 and having to 'heat the human'. 

If you don't have storage heaters, why are you on Economy 7?

Not to interrogate you, just to ascertain what your situation actually is and whether there's a simple way of saving money as well as being warmer.

DullGreyGuy

Jonboy_1984 said:

Gerry1 said:

Most unlikely that RTS will be switched off after 31 March 2024.  The contract has been extended several times and it will almost certainly be extended again: discussions are ongoing.

The issue with the RTS service is it apparently piggybacks off a unique system that relies on analogue valves that haven’t been manufactured for several decades, and they are apparently down to 2 spare valves, at some point an extension won’t be possible.

If its like a former client of mine... at least one engineer will have spotted the problem before and will be sitting on a couple of spare valves hoping its their retirement fund when the company suddenly needs a replacement. 

Keep_pedalling

QrizB said:

ex2t633w said:

Just heard (from ALIENERGY) that the radio- controlled support for my  ECONOMY 7 will be switched off on 31st March 2024.

Who is ALIENERGY? A friend, a journalist, a blogger?

https://www.alienergy.org.uk/