Tens of thousands Tayside, Fife and Stirling homes face blackout as old RTS meters switched off
Tens of thousands of homes across Tayside, Fife and Stirling still using old RTS meters could be left without electricity at the end of this month, according to alarming new figures.
Nearly 25,000 homes across Dundee, Angus, Perth and Kinross, Stirling and Fife still need to switch to modern systems to run central heating and keep the lights on.
Designed in the 1980s, RTS meters use radio signals to switch between peak and off peak targets.
But the tech is due to become obsolete at the end of June leaving energy suppliers racing against the clock to install newer smart meters.
Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis explained the switch could mean those with RTS meters find their heating and hot water are left continually on or off, or charging up at the wrong time of day. Suppliers could also charge people incorrectly.
In Fife, as of April 18 there were a total of 5,075 homes with a KY post code still using an RTS meter.
In Perth and Kinross, there were 6,720 homes still relying on the near-obsolete meters.
Exact figures in Stirling are unavailable as the area shares its postcode Falkirk, though some 5,640 homes with an FK postcode are still using the meter.
In Dundee and Angus, the figures stands at some 7,540.
Despite the significant numbers at risk – over 124,000 in Scotland – and with just two weeks to go, at the current rate meters are being changed it would take 380 days.
RTS meters are typically used in areas with no mains gas supply, often flats or in rural areas, and the property is usually heated using electricity or storage heaters.
RTS meters have a transmitter or separate teleswitch box next to the electricity meter. It should have a Teleswitch label on the outside.
Energy suppliers can provide more information if a householder is unsure.
North East Fife MP Wendy Chamberlain told The Courier: 'Just last week, my constituent was scheduled to have her meter changed after desperately trying to get it changed for three years, but no one showed up.
'Her husband has cancer, and the elderly couple are extremely worried about the possibility of being left without heating.'
Ms Chamberlain fears suppliers are not taking the deadline seriously and wants Fife Council to prepare.
'Another short extension of the deadline will not solve the issue and if the switch-off is in autumn or winter the problems it will cause would be exacerbated by cold weather,' she added.
'Energy companies must increase their efforts to exchange all outstanding meters ahead of the deadline and be prepared to compensate anyone in North East Fife who has requested a new meter but loses out as a result of this bungled switch over.'
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