Dr. Dorothy Nesmith of Harlingen reached out to Action 4 News as a concerned homeowner.
She said she refused to allow a smart meter to be installed at her home because she claims possible health risks, from the radiation they emit, can cause flu symptoms, insomnia and even cancer.
Nesmith said she's been making changes to live a healthier lifestyle and go green, but a smart meter at her home is not an option.
"I exercise daily, I’m very concerned about my health and I really don’t want to get cancer from a meter stuck to my house, which is also transmitting my personal information," Nesmith said.
Nesmith also claimed that if she can log on to an electronic device and access information about her home's electricity usage, so can criminals.
She said this monitoring system available for customers, gives them a map to what's inside a person's home.
"If you're checking your data on your cell phone, then so is every criminal, every organized criminal, every teenager, an ex-boyfriend who's stalking you,” Nesmith said. “Anybody can be checking that information and they can use it to come to your home when you're not here."
AEP Spokesperson Frank Espinoza said that the health risks involving radiation waves have been carefully studied by the Federal Communications Commission and the Edison Electric Institute.
He added the meters were deemed safe and the radiation wave exposure on these meters are 125 to 1,250 times less than that emitted by a cell phone.
Espinoza also said that AEP is a regulated utility, and it will have to finish installing smart meters in every customers home by 2013.
Dr. Nesmith said she’ll continue to raise awareness to try and stop the meters from going up in her neighborhood.
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