LIVERPOOL, N.S. -- Janette George and Peter Ripple live in different towns, but a single issue has brought them together: opposition to Nova Scotia Power's smart meters.

"I think for one thing we're being deceived by Nova Scotia Power into thinking these things are safe," Ripple said.

Hundreds of thousands of smart meters are being rolled out across the province and there will eventually be half-a-million when the job is finished next year.

The company insists 70 per cent of Canadians already have a smart meter in some form, including 70,000 Nova Scotians.

That's worrisome for Janette George, who says she became "electro-sensitive" years ago.

"It's the neighbour's meters, and it's their neighbour's meters, because one smart meter, the RF radiation has been measured to travel up to two miles," said George.

They, and others, have set up a Facebook page opposed to smart meters; the page has attracted thousands of followers.

Beyond health and safety concerns, members are sharing tales of skyrocketing bills, and suspicions the power company plans to charge more for usage during peak periods.

Stephen Pothier, the director of Nova Scotia Power's smart meter project, says most of the complaints are false and that customers can simply choose not to get one.

"There's no reason that a customer's bill should go up solely because of the installation of a smart meter," Pothier said.

Customers who do opt out will be slapped with an extra charge of $48 per year because they've chosen a "non-standard service."

Ripple says that's a small price to pay for peace of mind -- at least for now.

"I anticipated that once people started getting their smart bills, if it was like every place else, they might not care about radiation, but they would care about getting hit in the pocketbook," Ripple said.

Nova Scotia Power says, so far, less than one per cent of customers have opted out of the smart meter program and the utility is reaching out to more communities with information sessions.

They have also scheduled a meeting with the administrators of the Facebook group later this month.