Shetland Islands Council is urging people across the isles to check their electricity meters to see if they need to be replaced.
The Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS) helps homes and businesses throughout Shetland change to off-peak electricity tariffs, but the radio signal is being switched off on the 30th of June 2025.
Energy UK is the trade association for the UK energy industry. It says RTS is being turned off because the underlying equipment that sends out the signal is at the end of its operational life. Energy UK says there are about 5,000 RTS meters in Shetland.
Electricity customers around the UK are being warned if they do not replace their RTS meter with a smart meter, their heating and hot water systems might not turn on, or off.
The Council is working with partners including Hjaltland Housing Association to raise awareness of the issue. Installation remains the responsibility of energy suppliers. A new leaflet and online video have been produced by the SIC and Hjaltland - helping people check what meter is in their home, and what they need to do next – you can watch the video here - https://youtu.be/b7XbUkF4kc4
Energy regulator Ofgem has set up an RTS taskforce, and says this is to ensure suppliers contacted all RTS customers by the 31st December 2024.
Shetland Islands Council Executive Manager for Future Energy, Douglas Irvine, says: “We want to make sure people know about this switch-off. It is not the function of a local authority to install smart meters - that is the responsibility of energy suppliers.
“We do however want to see a co-ordinated approach to installing this new technology and making sure it works, or an alternative is provided. I would ask people to contact their energy provider if they’re unsure, or if they haven’t been told about getting a smart meter installed.”
Chief Executive for Hjaltland Housing Association, Bryan Leask, says: “The Association has approximately three hundred properties with radio-controlled meters which will need to be replaced before the end of June.
“The decision to switch off the RTS service will mean our tenants need a different metering solution, and like the Council this is not something we have the ability to do. We are therefore working with the Council to encourage people to contact their energy supplier as soon as possible to ensure they are not impacted by the switch-off.
“There is advice available from various agencies and people can find more information about this on both Hjaltland and Shetland Islands Council’s websites.”