September 29 2009

Tantalus First to Obtain System-Wide Safety Certification for
Meter Socket Powered Fiber-Based Smart Grid Data Collectors

Vancouver, BC – September 29, 2009 – Tantalus Systems Corp. has obtained system wide safety certifications from the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) based on applicable Underwriters Laboratory (UL) standards, for use of its RT-4101 Ethernet data collector in Smart Grid deployments that utilize fiber optic networks for data communications.

The Tantalus RT-4101 is the first device of its kind to be granted a complete system safety certification incorporating an AMI-enabled electric meter collar adapter providing a fully safety certified low voltage power delivery system. These systems are used for power provisioning to externally mounted telecommunications equipment such as Optical Network Terminals (used to connect fiber cables to homes and businesses), as well as other devices including Ethernet Routers, Cable Routers, and UPS modules.

Fiber, whether deployed as Fiber to the Home or to the Premise (FTTH / FTTP), is becoming an increasingly popular communications method for Smart Grid applications including interval & on-demand meter reading, outage management and continual power quality monitoring. These high-speed, low-latency networks are also ideally suited for data intensive applications such as Distribution Automation and Demand Response, which enables a utility and its customers to interact in near real-time in load shedding, price signalling and other conservation and cost saving activities.

Deployment of the RT-4101 is underway at two municipal utilities in Tennessee – Chattanooga EPB and Pulaski Electric System. Pulaski, which helped with the design of the device and with field trials, also uses Tantalus’ wireless radio system to provide Smart Grid services to rural customers. Although the Tantalus network operates in both IP and RF environments, it is a single network that delivers data to a central Tantalus server where it interfaces with utility software systems such as billing and outage management applications. The hybrid network provides a comprehensive coverage solution and high redundancy. It also facilitates easy migration from RF to FTTH as the utility’s fiber network expands and its communications needs evolve.

“Home Run networks – which add Smart Grid functionality to the three core services of high-speed Internet, video and voice-over-IP communications supplied for Triple Play service – allow a utility to get even more value from its fiber network,” said Eric Murray, President & CEO of Tantalus. EPB in Chattanooga, Tennessee, for example, anticipates that it can create almost $850 million in value from both communications and Smart Grid services through job creation, energy savings and other efficiencies.

“There is on-going debate over what will emerge as the Smart Grid’s communications standard of choice,” Murray added. “Utilities must prepare themselves for data requirements 10 or 20 years in the future, as millions of devices will eventually need to communicate over the network, such as smart appliances, smart thermostats, and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles, to name a few. That’s in addition to the tens of thousands of meters and distribution devices already in place. Utilities need to be sure that the communications network they implement today is up to the task. In receiving the system wide safety certifications for the RT-4101, Tantalus becomes the first to provide a fully proven, fully tested Ethernet-based communications module that can support these rapidly evolving needs.”

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