Can you refuse a smart meter? When an old or faulty meter still needs replacing

Before agreeing or refusing, ask why the meter needs changing. A general rollout invitation, a fault, an electricity-meter certification issue and an RTS replacement are different situations.

An offer and a necessary replacement are not the same thing

Ofgem, Citizens Advice and Octopus all say you can choose not to accept an ordinary offer to have a smart meter fitted. The position changes when the meter itself needs replacing. Ofgem says suppliers should install a smart meter, unless there is a good reason not to, when fitting a meter for the first time or replacing one.

Octopus says it installs a smart meter when a traditional meter breaks or has passed its certification date. It also says traditional meters are no longer being manufactured or refurbished, so asking for another old-style meter may not produce a practical alternative.

When you can usually refuse

You can normally decline when the supplier is offering a working household a smart meter as part of the wider rollout and there is no separate fault, safety, certification or RTS reason to replace the existing equipment.

Refusing can still have practical consequences:

• You may need to submit manual readings.
• Some tariffs will not be available.
• Time-of-use tariffs that rely on half-hourly readings need a compatible smart meter and the required data.
• The supplier may make another offer later.

A refusal is not a guarantee that the old meter can remain forever. If it later becomes faulty or reaches the end of its permitted service life, the replacement decision starts again.

When the old meter may still need replacing

1. The meter is faulty

If readings appear inaccurate, the screen is blank, prepayment functions fail or the meter keeps moving when everything in the home is switched off, report the exact problem rather than describing it only as a smart-meter dispute.

Citizens Advice says a supplier must investigate a reported credit-meter fault, take appropriate action and offer to confirm its findings and plan in writing within five working days. Compensation rules can apply when that service standard is missed. An accuracy test can carry a charge if the meter is found to be accurate, so ask about possible costs before agreeing to testing.

If a traditional meter has to be replaced because it is faulty, the available replacement is likely to be a smart meter. Octopus says that is what it installs in this situation.

2. An electricity meter is outside its certification life

Some older electricity meters have a certification life. GOV.UK says meters that require certification must be removed from service when that period expires.

Do not rely only on the age of the meter or a date in a generic letter. Citizens Advice says to check the make, model and certification date against the current GOV.UK schedule. It also says an electricity meter with an MID mark does not expire in the same way. The mark normally starts with “CE”, followed by an “M”, two numbers in a box and four more numbers.

If the meter has an MID mark, tell the supplier and ask for the precise replacement reason. If it does not, ask for the certification date, model and certified life held on the account. Octopus notes that certification periods can sometimes be extended after service testing, so the date printed on the meter is not always the final word.

Gas is different. Citizens Advice says gas meters do not have an expiry date. If a supplier says a gas meter has expired, ask what fault, safety concern or model-specific issue requires replacement.

3. The meter is unsafe or presents a supply risk

A safety problem is not an ordinary rollout offer. Citizens Advice says that if an old-style meter needs replacing because it is unsafe, you might not be able to refuse a smart meter because an old-style replacement may not be available.

Ask the supplier to state the safety concern clearly. Do not open the meter case, remove seals or tamper with the equipment. If you smell gas, call the National Gas Emergency Service. If the home has lost supply and neighbouring homes have not, use the supplier's emergency meter route rather than waiting for a normal appointment.

4. You have an RTS or meter-controlled multi-rate setup

Radio Teleswitch Service equipment is a special case. Ofgem says the RTS signal is being switched off area by area. Without it, some meters may stop changing between peak and off-peak registers correctly. Heating or hot water can also be affected in some homes.

Ofgem says suppliers must make sure RTS customers have a suitable meter and avoid service disruption. A smart meter is the normal replacement. Refusing it can put register timing, tariff billing, heating or hot-water control at risk.

Before an RTS exchange, photograph every register, the meter, any separate teleswitch box and the surrounding setup. Tell the installer about storage heaters, immersion heaters or other meter-controlled circuits. The replacement needs to preserve the home's heating arrangement, not merely display a new reading.

Can you ask for smart functions to be switched off?

Citizens Advice says you can ask whether a smart meter can be installed with the extra functionality switched off, so it works more like a traditional meter and does not automatically send readings. The Energy Ombudsman describes this as an exceptional option rather than a universal right.

Ask what is technically and contractually possible for the proposed meter. “Dumb mode” may mean:

• Submitting manual readings.
• Losing access to smart-only tariffs.
• Losing automatic prepayment or remote top-up functions.
• Losing the half-hourly data needed for time-of-use billing.
• Limiting a multi-rate arrangement if communication is needed to operate it.

Octopus smart import tariffs require a compatible smart meter and half-hourly readings. A smart meter with communication disabled is not a shortcut into Agile, Go, Intelligent Octopus Go, Cosy or another smart tariff.

What if you rent?

Ofgem says that if you pay the gas or electricity bill in a rented home, you can choose to have a smart meter. It recommends telling the landlord first because the tenancy agreement may include rules about the energy supply or meter. If the tenancy says permission is needed, Ofgem says the landlord should not unreasonably prevent the installation. If the landlord pays the energy bill, the decision is theirs.

For a suspected fault, responsibility follows the account arrangement. Citizens Advice says that when the landlord pays the bill, the tenant should report the issue to the landlord, who must contact the supplier. If the tenant holds the energy account, they should report it directly while keeping the landlord informed where the tenancy requires it.

What to record before any meter exchange

A meter exchange can create a later billing dispute if closing readings, serial numbers or day and night registers are not carried across correctly. Keep your own evidence even when the installer records it.

The meter and the supplier's statement are the billing records to check first. In-home displays, car apps, charger apps, inverter dashboards and screenshots can help explain what happened, but Octopus's smart-tariff terms say third-party app data cannot be used for billing.

If the new smart meter does not work in smart mode

A meter can record energy correctly while failing to send automatic readings. That is a communications problem after installation, not proof that the original exchange was unnecessary.

Report it with the installation date, serial number and photos. Ask the supplier whether it is receiving readings and what its resolution plan is. Ofgem's February 2026 standards include a five-working-day response step for reported smart-meter problems. The Government has also announced a duty to take all reasonable steps to repair meters not working properly in smart mode as soon as possible and within 90 days.

Do not treat the 90-day point as an automatic £40 payment. Ofgem said the separate automatic compensation standard for meters left out of smart mode after 90 days still required further work. The five-working-day response standard and the wider repair duty are the safer checks to use.

A calm decision checklist

1. Is this an optional rollout offer or a required replacement?
2. Is the reason a fault, safety issue, electricity-meter certification or RTS phase-out?
3. What evidence supports that reason?
4. Is an old-style replacement available and suitable?
5. Can communication be switched off, and what functions or tariffs would that remove?
6. Does the home rely on Economy 7, RTS, storage-heater or prepayment functions?
7. Who holds the energy account and, in a rented home, what does the tenancy say?
8. Have you saved the readings, serial number, bill and exchange paperwork?

Bottom line

You can refuse an optional smart-meter offer, but you cannot assume an old meter can stay in place when it is faulty, unsafe, outside its certification life or unable to keep an RTS-controlled home working properly. Ask for the exact reason, check it against current guidance and keep a complete meter-exchange record.

For Octopus customers, keeping smart communication off may preserve manual billing in some circumstances, but it restricts smart-tariff access. If you are considering Octopus after the meter issue is understood, compare the tariff and meter requirements first. Use the referral page only if Octopus still suits the home.