Energy / Carmichael ‘genuinely furious’ after RTS meeting
NORTHERN Isles politician Alistair Carmichael has said the “arrogance and complacency” of energy companies left him “genuinely furious” after a meeting about the radio teleswitch service (RTS) shutdown.
Shetland News reported last week that Ofgem had confirmed the 30 June switch-off would now instead be phased, with thousands of meters across the UK still needing to be replaced.
Customers in Shetland are still being offered appointments to change their existing RTS meters to smart meters beyond the 30 June deadline.
RTS meters provide heating and electricity to thousands of addresses in Shetland, with the radio signal to the meters due to be switched off at the end of June.
MP Carmichael attended a ministerial roundtable about the switch-off with fellow politicians, energy regulator Ofgem and Energy UK – which represents energy companies – today (Thursday).
However he said he left the meeting “genuinely furious”, claiming the energy companies behind the meter replacements failed to take responsibility for the slow progress.
The MP said it was confirmed during the meeting that energy companies are now working towards the end of 2025 for their RTS deadline.
And he added that Scotland could be among the last to be fully replaced, despite the meeting hearing that the RTS service is likely to fail in months, not years.
“The arrogance and complacency of the energy companies over their RTS failures has been something to behold,” Carmichael said.
“I went into this meeting hoping for a proper explanation of the plans for the phased shutdown of RTS, and some much-needed and much-deserved contrition from Ofgem and the energy companies responsible for this mess.
“Instead there was no acknowledgement of the reckless failures that brought us here.
“We were treated to blithe assurances that all is well and that the phased switch-off was planned all along – even if that did not merit telling the public until now.
“We were told that RTS is still on the point of failure and could fall down at any time – but that the new expectation is to finish the shutdown sometime in the winter.
“It would take a fool or a madman to see this as a responsible solution – but between Ofgem and Energy UK that is what we have.”
Carmichael said it was time for the UK Government to “stop playing nice” with Ofgem and the energy companies.
“Ministers need to make them feel the heat – so that vulnerable households can still get some heat this winter,” he added.
Both Carmichael and MSP Beatrice Wishart had welcomed official confirmation on Wednesday from the UK Government that a phased switch-off would now take place.
Become a member of Shetland News
Shetland News is asking its readers to consider paying for membership to get additional perks:
- Removal of third-party ads;
- Bookmark posts to read later;
- Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
- Hide membership messages;
- Comments open for discussion.
If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a member of Shetland News by either making a single payment, or setting up a monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription.
Already a member? Sign in to hide this message.
