Martin Lewis issues warning as over 300,000 UK households could lose hot water access within weeks

A certain type of electricity meter is scheduled to switch off completely from June 30

Martin Lewis has issued a warning to households all over the UK as hundreds of thousands of people could be left without hot water by the end of this month.

Taking to X on Tuesday, the Money Saving Expert wrote: "Warning! Got an old Economy 7 or multi-rate electricity meter? The 'Radio Teleswitch Service' which allows some old (non-smart) meters to function will be switched off at end of this month."

He continued: "It could mean your heating & hot water won't function properly, or incorrect bills. You need a meter upgrade now."

More than 300,000 homes across the country are at risk of losing access to hot water and heating from July 1 as a result of this switch.

According to energy experts, the system is being turned off because the equipment runs on a special type of vacuum type that isn't being manufactured anymore. According to some reports there are less than ten left in the world.

Energy companies are working to upgrade the system ahead of an end of June deadline but, as it stands, the likelihood of all customers' meters becoming switched to the new system by that date is slim.

A spokesman for Energy UK -which represents energy firms - said that, at the end of March, 430,000 households remained on an RTS meter and more than 1,000 were being replaced each day.

Ned Hammond, Energy UK’s deputy director for customers, told BBC Radio 4’s You And Yours programme recently that the rate of replacement is rising, but added: "Obviously we’d need to increase from there significantly still to replace all the meters by the end of June."

Asked whether it is impossible to get every RTS meter switched over by June 30, he said: "I wouldn’t want to say impossible – but clearly very, very difficult to get to that point."

Industry regulator Ofgem has said the risks associated with not having a functioning meter include heating and hot water left continually on or off, electric storage heaters charging at the wrong time of day - possibly leading to higher bills - and the supplier being unable to confirm electricity usage during peak or off-peak times.

According to Ofgem, you may have an RTS meter if:

– Your home has a separate switch box near your meter with a Radio Teleswitch label on it.

– Your home is heated using electricity or storage heaters.

– There is no gas supply to your area.

– You get cheaper energy at different times of day, for example, on an Economy 7 tariff.

– If you haven’t been contacted, Ofgem recommends contacting your supplier to arrange the replacement.

– However, beware if someone contacts you claiming you need to pay to change your meter because it is likely to be a scam.