Why there are just 100 days to save rural Scots from dangerous energy system shutdown

The shutdown of the radio teleswitch service could cause real problems for vulnerable people living in remote areas of Scotland

It is often said that the first 100 days of a new government are the most important in determining if it will be a success or a failure. I am not sure how much truth that “truism” holds – and if I were a Labour minister right now, I would certainly be hoping it was not accurate.

There is a far more important 100 days ahead, however, for families across Scotland as we enter the final days until the shutdown of the radio teleswitch service (RTS) for energy customers. How the government acts in the next 100 days will have a material impact on the lives and the well-being of tens of thousands of people currently on RTS energy meters – many of them vulnerable, and often living in rural and island communities.

For years, energy companies, regulator Ofgem and the last government were asleep at the wheel when it came to the RTS shutdown. That is not this government’s fault, but it is their responsibility to find solutions – and fast.

RTS is due to be switched off on June 30. A number of extensions have been made to the deadline but that switch-off can be delayed no longer. The outdated technology is quite literally falling apart.

Vulnerable people in remote parts of Scotland could see their heating stuck at 'on' when the automatic radio teleswitch service is switched off in June (Picture: CM Dixon/Heritage Images) | Getty Images

Time running out fast

The need to switch people to new meters has been known for years. According to the latest figures from January, however, there are still well over half a million RTS meters remaining. They are being replaced at a rate of approximately 25,000 per month. You probably do not need to whip out a calculator to see the problem here. The three months that are left to us will not be sufficient to replace all these energy meters.

That makes the question of what comes next all the more important. Ofgem has stated that there will be no interruption of electricity supply to homes when the switch-off happens, but the details we have still do not give much confidence.

After all, one of the defining features of RTS is the use of the “Total Heating, Total Control” system, which turns heating “on” and “off” automatically according to the radio signal. If heating is stuck “on” at the point of shutdown then that would be a significant problem, which could even be dangerous for older and more vulnerable people. Remember we’re talking about the most “windswept and interesting” parts of Scotland here – that RTS is being switched off in June is no guarantee that people won’t have their heating going.

Smart meter signal problems

Ofgem has also set out a requirement that suppliers must give tariffs which would leave customers “no worse off” when they are switched to a new meter – yet I am already hearing reports of people being forced onto worse tariffs by their supplier.

These problems are some of the more eye-catching but there is a myriad of other technical and practical issues at play, whether geography and the logistics of meter replacement, issues with smart meter signal, or basic communication with people affected.

Progress has been made but we are still far behind where we need to be. Time is running out. The next hundred days will be a hard test for this government – let us see if they are up to the challenge.

Alistair Carmichael is the Scottish Liberal Democrat MP for Orkney and Shetland