Can you refuse a smart meter? Yes — here are the rules
Suppliers have government targets to offer everyone a smart meter, which is why the letters, calls and texts keep coming. But an offer is all it is. Citizens Advice puts it plainly: you don’t have to accept a smart meter if you don’t want one — and if a supplier tells you that you must, you can challenge it through the Citizens Advice consumer helpline.
- It costs nothing either way. Installation is free, the in-home display is free, and there is no fee, exit charge or penalty for declining.
- The half-way house: smart meter, dumb mode. You can ask your supplier to install the meter with the extra functionality switched off — it then works like your current meter and sends no information to your supplier. Ask your supplier if they can do this.
- The honest trade-off. Refusing can make it harder to access every tariff — the cheapest deals (especially time-of-use tariffs that charge less off-peak) increasingly require a smart meter. Declining is free today; it may cost you tariff choice tomorrow. That’s the truthful price, and it’s yours to weigh.
- The genuine exception. If your old-style meter is unsafe or has genuinely expired, you may not be able to refuse — few traditional meters are manufactured now and your supplier may simply have none in stock.
Your honest rights, in one breath
Not compulsory. Free to install. Free to refuse. Free to have it in non-smart mode. Free in-home display. You choose how much data it shares. The appointment must be offered within 30 working days of you asking — and if they miss it, change it with less than a working day’s notice, or send someone unqualified, they owe you £40 (plus another £40 if that isn’t paid within 10 working days).
Never pay — and never be pushed at the door
Nobody legitimate charges for a smart meter installation, an “upgrade booking” or an appointment — any call, text or doorstep visitor asking for payment or bank details for one is a scam: run it through our
scam checker. And if you’re told your meter “has expired and MUST be replaced”, check before agreeing: electricity meters with an
MID certification mark (a CE followed by an M and two digits in a box) don’t expire, and gas meters have
no expiry date at all — ask the supplier to explain exactly why yours needs changing.
The big exception: the RTS switch-off
If your home uses electric storage heaters or a multi-rate tariff like Economy 7, Economy 10 or Total Heat Total Control, your meter may rely on the Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS) — a longwave radio signal that tells it when to flip between peak and off-peak rates. That signal is being switched off area by area, phasing out since 30 June 2025, with the industry working to complete the job in 2026. Once the signal goes in your area, an RTS meter loses its sense of time.
Ofgem is blunt about what that can mean if you don’t upgrade:
- Your heating and hot water may be left continually on — or continually off.
- Storage heaters may charge at the wrong (expensive) time of day, pushing bills up.
- Your supplier may no longer be able to tell peak from off-peak usage, so your costs may rise — and your tariff choice shrinks.
You likely have an RTS meter if there’s a separate switch box near your meter with a “Radio Teleswitch” label, your home heats with electricity, there’s no gas in your area, or you get cheaper rates at set times. Not sure? Ask your supplier — they’re required to contact RTS households, but don’t wait to be found.
What your supplier MUST do for RTS households
Ofgem requires suppliers to treat RTS customers fairly: clear and timely information about the phase-out, a meter replacement that leaves your
service undisrupted, and a move onto a
suitable tariff that reflects your usage pattern — or another smart tariff of your choice. If they can’t offer you a smart meter yet, they must still make sure you have a suitable working meter. Problems? Complain to the supplier, then escalate free via our
complaints guide.
If you say yes: your terms — data, prepayment and the display
A smart meter is not all-or-nothing. The settings are yours:
| Setting | Your choice |
|---|
| How often readings are shared | Meters installed since 3 Nov 2022 default to half-hourly for electricity, monthly for gas. You can change the frequency (for example to daily) through your online account or by phone. Older installs defaulted to daily and could be dialled down further. |
| Why share more | Half-hourly data can unlock time-of-use tariffs — cheaper rates at off-peak times. |
| Why share less | Less frequent readings keep your daily living pattern more private. Your usage data is yours. |
| Full privacy | Ask for the meter in non-smart mode — it sends nothing at all. |
The free in-home display shows your usage in pounds and pence as you go — the installer must show you how to use it and leave instructions. One honest note from Citizens Advice: a smart meter won’t automatically save you money — it shows you where the money goes; acting on it is still down to you. Our household money-leaks audit and stop-overpaying guide are built for exactly that step.
Prepayment protections — the remote-switch rules
A smart meter can be switched into prepayment mode remotely — but under Ofgem rules in force since November 2023, doing that without your consent counts as an involuntary prepayment installation: suppliers must complete vulnerability checks first, and it is banned outright for the highest-risk homes — including people over 75 without support, households with children under 2, and anyone dependent on electricity for medical equipment. These rules are licence conditions; breaches can bring enforcement and fines. On the upside, smart prepay is genuinely better than the old key meter: app top-ups, visible credit, emergency credit and “friendly hours” overnight and at weekends.
Do this now
Have storage heaters or an Economy 7-style tariff? Check for the Radio Teleswitch box today and contact your supplier about a replacement — the signal in your area may already be on the switch-off list.
Being pressured to accept one? You don’t have to. Say no, ask for non-smart mode, or check the “expired meter” claim against the MID mark — and if the pressure continues, contact the Citizens Advice consumer helpline.
Want one? Book with your supplier — the appointment must be offered within 30 working days, and a missed one is worth £40 to you.
Northern Ireland
The rollout and rules on this page cover Great Britain. Northern Ireland has its own metering arrangements and no equivalent mass smart rollout yet — NI readers should check current guidance with the Utility Regulator and Consumer Council NI.