Remote islanders waiting on energy switch news

Thousands of households in one of the most rural areas of the country are being left in the dark about the future of their energy, according to a leading charity in Scotland.

A large majority of homes in the Western Isles currently rely on the Radio Teleswitch Service to control their electricity – but the service is due to undergo a phased switch off this summer.

The service, which uses BBC radio frequencies to automatically switch households onto different, and often cheaper, electricity rates, was introduced in the 1980s. It is set to be turned off on 30 June 2025 as part of the rollout of smart meters.

But with just a few months to go before the phased switch off, only a small amount of the 2,700 homes that will need new meters installed have been visited by an engineer.

The service changes were due to be implemented in 2023 but have been delayed twice. Nationally, there are a reported 600,000 homes that need work to be ready for the switch off but the issue is amplified in a rural location like the Western Isles.

Tighean Insse Gall (TIG), a charity partly funded by British Gas Energy Trust and helping vulnerable people across the islands, believes more should be being done to support households, particularly in an area where signal is poor for smart meter connections.

Kirsty MacLeod, TIG’s Energy Advice Manager, said the issue needs to be a priority for providers, government and Ofgem. The charity also says there is a risk that heating and hot water could be left constantly on or off, potentially leaving customers with issues and large bills.

“A lot of questions remain unanswered. Providers were informed that the service was being turned off several years ago, and there still doesn’t seem to be a timely plan being put in place to ensure people aren’t affected by the change.

“A number of the changes have been made, but they don’t scratch the surface. The logistics of doing something in urban areas is very different to doing it in island rural locations. To get from one end of the islands to the other will take hundreds of miles and two ferries.

“We’re finding that whenever customers in our area call up to ask about the change, they’re usually met with the response of ‘we don’t have an engineer in your area’.

“We did hear that OVO would be appointing an engineer for the islands which is great news but only a small step towards the June 2025 deadline, we need to know how government and Ofgem are going to act if people aren’t switched in time or thousands of people are faced with huge increases in their utility bills.

“We ask that homes with RTS meters, contact their utility provider as soon as possible to ask about a meter change, we are able to help homes in the Western Isles if they need assistance with contacting the utility company.”

Find out more information about the Radio Teleswitch Service via the Ofgem website here

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