Over 300,000 UK households at risk of losing hot water from July Energy companies are struggling to meet a deadline to upgrade electricity meters Hundreds of thousands of households in the UK need to have their meters replaced by June 30 (Image: Peter Dazeley ) More than 300,000 homes across the UK are at risk of losing access to hot water and heating from July 1. Industry regulator Ofgem has issued a warning to households as a certain type of electricity meter is scheduled to switch off on June 30. ‌ The Radio Teleswitching System (RTS) - used by older electricity meters to control heating and hot water - is becoming obsolete as a technology, and thus energy companies are working to upgrade the system ahead of an end of June deadline. ‌ 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. Campaigners said this implies that more than 300,000 households could be left with a meter which does not work from July 1. Article continues below Ned Hammond, Energy UK’s deputy director for customers, told BBC Radio 4’s You And Yours programme 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. ‌ Hundreds of thousands of pensioners may be thrown into paying tax (Image: Getty Images ) The End Fuel Poverty Coalition has written to the watchdog and the government to raise concerns about the pace and communication of the meter replacement effort. The coalition said the replacement programme is falling dangerously behind schedule, with energy suppliers unable to meet existing targets and thousands of customers still without a plan for replacement. ‌ 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. Article continues below – However, beware if someone contacts you claiming you need to pay to change your meter because it is likely to be a scam.