Eco7 Meter - Single rate

markust1

Morning all.

A bit of background - I have an old RTS ECO7 meter. I was on Tomato energy and just got shifted over to British Gas by OFGEM. I use 85% of my electricity in the daytime, so I've been on single rate.

My first question is how am I supposed to compare pricing with alternative suppliers for single rate on an ECO7 meter? They all seem to default to day/night pricing and I can't find anywhere to change that. Surely I'm not supposed to individually check every supplier?

Secondly, before Tomato went bump I tried to switch to Fuse which failed due to "unsupported meter type". Is this likely to be a problem for me to switch anywhere with an RTS meter? I don't use the night rate function at all, so I never bothered to have it replaced.

QrizB

markust1 said:

Secondly, before Tomato went bump I tried to switch to Fuse which failed due to "unsupported meter type". Is this likely to be a problem for me to switch anywhere with an RTS meter?

Yes.

Ask BG to replace it and, once it's been swapped, you'll be able to switch freely.

Rodders53

RTS meter needs replaced with a smart meter.
Ask your supplier to change it asap... They should have been asking to do this for ages now. But have now gone bust.  Smart meters can do E7 as well as single rate or prepayment via remote changes by the supplier.

RTS usually had two consumer units:  One powered 24/7 (peak rate) and the other powered by the RTS signal/contactor to supply water and/or storage heaters at night rate.  Has all that been disconnected / removed?

If not you may need a special 5-wire smart meter install. 
Or (at your expense) some (relatively minor) re-wiring of the installation.

British Gas will become your new Ofgem-appointed supplier... Once that is completed get them to install a smart meter and see if they can do what you want with a single rate.  Then you can look to move to other suppliers.

WiserMiser

Search for Ofgem approved comparison sites.  Not all of them look up your meter details, so try a few.  Or phone some and ask for single-rate quotations.  Most suppliers will happily bill both registers at the same rate without a meter change.

markust1

Thanks everyone. Any idea of lead time for smart meter installs with BG? I'm on an extortionate rate, but don't want to fix with them as I'm moving.

Scot_39

On SVT most just charge the Ofgem cap rate anyway.

Youd probably be liable to exit fees on a fix if you know your leaving when take it out.

I dont see any supplier, new owner or new tennant wanting a property with old RTS - the initial deadline was 18 months ago - the slipped one - 5 months ago.

Have you phoned BG and asked them to bill you single rate in the interim ?

Meter swap times are highly regional - went to pot in many regions as RTS were being prioritised - but with an RTS you might also be able to jump the queue.

Why didn't you switch when your previous supplier hounded you to do so as above the last deadline was c5 months ago - the one before that Mar 2024 iirc - so 18 months ago.

QrizB

Scot_39 said:

Why didn't you switch when your previous supplier hounded you to do so as above the last deadline was c5 months ago - the one before that Mar 2024 iirc - so 18 months ago.

To be fair to the OP, I suspect Tomato had other things on their minds and didn't hound anyone about RTS meters.

markust1

Scot_39 said:

Why didn't you switch when your previous supplier hounded you to do so as above the last deadline was c5 months ago - the one before that Mar 2024 iirc - so 18 months ago.

The meters we have are in a locked common area - I don't have access. We've been told by the manangement company that the wiring to our heating systems is "non-standard" and that only specific smart meters are compatible. Since I wasn't using overnight heating like everyone else I didn't need the radio switch-over component of the meter so I was waiting until everyone else in the block got theirs changed so I knew what worked.

markust1

Just as an update, it looks like Eon have accepted my transfer without needing a meter change!

All the checks look good.

We’ve gone through all the details we need for your switch and they’re correct.

There’s a few more bits to do and then you should be with us from 26 November.

Thanks for the help everyone.