SNP MSP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Alasdair Allan, has again hit out at the UK Government and its regulators over their mismanagement of the RTS meter switch-off He called for clarity for households with only a fortnight until the currently advertised deadline.
Energy suppliers have been given the deadline of the 30th June this year (previously extended from March 2024) to ensure all households still using an RTS-reliant meter had been able to have this replaced. Ofgem confirmed at the end of May that the switch-off would now take a phased approach, as energy suppliers had failed to scale up their RTS meter replacement operations to the level required.
However, with only a fortnight until the RTS signal is due to begin being switched off, no details have yet been provided as to how the phased approach will work, what the timescales involved might be, and what affected households should do meantime.
The islands’ MSP wrote again to Ofgem’s chief executive last week, pressing the UK Government energy regulator to provide households with clear information and advice about the impending switch-off as soon as possible.
Commenting, Alasdair Allan said:
“While I have, over recent months, managed to help a significant number of Western Isles households secure meter upgrade appointments with their suppliers ahead of the 30th June deadline, unfortunately some companies remain well behind where they need to be at this point. We need urgent clarity from Ofgem about how the phased switch-off will work – which areas will be first, and what should households within those areas do if their energy supplier hasn’t upgraded their meter in time?
“The Scottish Government has been doing all it can to advocate on behalf of households on this matter but all powers in this area are reserved to the UK Government. it is deeply frustrating that there is still such a dearth of information for affected households. As of April there were still over 2000 homes in the Western Isles waiting for appointments from their energy suppliers. The UK Government and its energy regulator, along with energy suppliers themselves, must ensure that nobody is inconvenienced or financially penalised for not having been able to get their meter changed by whatever the switch off date in their area turns out to be.”
