The Pennsylvania Legislature passed Act 129 way back in 2008, and it requires utilities to replace the old-style analog electric meters on customer’s homes with so-called “smart meters” by 2019. Electricity suppliers say that benefits to consumers and the electric grid will be significant, while some consumers say the smart meters are making them sick.

First, the case from energy suppliers.

Penelec, one of the companies that PA residents can choose to buy electricity from, says, “This step toward a more modernized electric system will enable automated meter readings and may enhance our ability to respond to outages faster and more efficiently.

“Plus, in the future, you will have access to more detailed energy information through our online Home Energy Analyzer tool that will help you better understand your electricity use—which means you can then make informed decisions on how to manage and control your electricity consumption.

“Be assured that the smart meter technology being implemented has been rigorously tested and proven by manufacturers to be accurate, safe and secure in systems throughout the country.”

Some people are not reassured. On sites like stopsmartmeters.org, it’s easy to find numerous testimonials from people who say that have been negatively impacted by smart meters that have been installed in their homes, especially ones that have been placed outside the building but are located within several feet of a person’s head when they sleep. Common complaints include trouble sleeping, headaches, sore throats and other ailments. But can these sorts of ailments really be caused by smart meters?

Smart meters communicate to the grid through radio frequency (RF) signals similar to the way cell phones use RF. The American Cancer Society (ACS) has said of RF exposure, “RF radiation doesn’t have enough energy to remove charged particles such as electrons… and so is called non-ionizing radiation. Non-ionizing radiation has enough energy to move atoms in a molecule around or cause them to vibrate, which can lead to heat, but it can’t damage DNA directly.

“RF radiation is classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), as ‘possibly carcinogenic to humans.’ This is based on the finding of a possible link in at least one study between cell phone use and a specific type of brain tumor. Because RF radiation is a possible carcinogen, and smart meters give off RF radiation, it is possible that smart meters could increase cancer risk. Still, it isn’t clear what risk, if any there might be, from living in a home with a smart meter.”

So, the answer from ACS, which is one of the most trusted organizations in the U.S. when it comes to the possible causes of cancer, is that the jury is still out on the possibility of negative health impacts from both smart meters and cell phones; a “possible link” between RF and a “specific type of brain tumor,” is more risk than some people may be willing to take.

While smart meters aren’t cell phones, they emit RF in similar ways, and the World Health Organization (WHO) last year issued a paper with these three “key facts: Mobile phone use is ubiquitous with an estimated 6.9 billion subscriptions globally; the electromagnetic fields produced by mobile phones are classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as possibly carcinogenic to humans. (Smart meters also have electromagnetic fields.)

WHO is conducting a formal risk assessment of all studied health outcomes from RF exposure that will be completed by 2016.

Negative health impacts are not the only concerns of critics of smart meters. The meters can be hacked, and they contain information about the electricity used and other information about specific consumers.

Penelec says this is a non-issue. It says, “No personally-identifiable customer information—such as names and addresses—is stored in the meters or transmitted across the network. Just like traditional analog meters, digital smart meters collect how much electricity you use. The main difference is that smart meters collect that information more times throughout the day. For example, the smart meters we are using send the company a snapshot of customers’ energy usage a few times a day.”

On the other hand, former CIA Director James Woolsey in an August 2014 interview warned about the risk of hacking. “What they’re doing now, they’re constructing what they call a ‘Smart Grid.’ And they’re going to make it easier for you and me to call our homes on our cell phone and turn down our air-conditioning on a hot afternoon if we’re not there. Great, but that may well mean that a hacker in Shanghai with his cell phone could do the same thing or worse.”

While it may turn out that smart meters are perfectly fine and even desirable, for now, a lot of people have questions, and they should be able to hold onto their old meters until their questions are satisfactorily answered.