NEWS RELEASE
MAY 03 2005

Federal Minister Powers Up Tantalus R&D Facility
New lab to accelerate TUNet production and spearhead
innovation of wireless communications for utilities

Vancouver, BC, Canada – May 03, 2005 – Tantalus further ramped up its R&D capabilities with the launch of a new engineering and research facility at the company’s Vancouver head office. The Honourable Stephen Owen, Canada’s Minister of Western Economic Diversification and Minister of State (Sport), officially opened the lab on April 28 in an event that showcased the two-way, wireless TUNet® system to a group of business and technology leaders, public officials, and representatives of the utilities industry.

Minister Owen commended Tantalus for the perseverance and diligent entrepreneurial spirit it showed in developing technology that will help make the whole energy system cleaner, greener, and more efficient. The company’s rapid growth, he pointed out, is indicative of the region’s established wireless technology cluster and a burgeoning group of companies focused specifically on innovation in the energy sector. The Power Technology Alliance, launched in March 2005, represents 65 companies involved in everything from fuel cells to demand-side management technologies. Their shared purpose is to use advanced materials, digital technology, and other innovations to improve the creation, delivery, and use of power.

The state-of-the-art lab serves as a test bed for new product innovation and will enable Tantalus to accelerate product development. The investment creates a premier research facility that converges large-scale wireless infrastructure development and diagnostic equipment with utility-oriented apparatus and applications software. The result is a world-class center for the development of wireless data communication technology for the utilities sector. In this environment, real-time information associated with power outages, interval and time-of-use data, as well as power quality metrics such as voltage sags and swells, and many other typical and extreme real-world situations can be accurately replicated in-house.

Founder Keith Martin – Tantalus’ President and Chief Technology Officer – demonstrated TUNet’s advanced metering, demand response, and real-time power outage features. “It’s thrilling to showcase our technology to Tantalus’ friends, partners and stakeholders – many of whom collaborated in the effort by providing field trial sites, funding, corporate partnership, and resources during development. Their confidence in our vision has paid off. The new lab provides best-in-class tools to further advance TUNet and, as a result, deliver a wireless communication solution that gives utilities and energy users an unprecedented level command and control.”

About Tantalus
Founded in 1989, Tantalus is a privately owned wireless communications company that designs, develops, and markets two-way, real-time data communications networks to monitor and control electric, gas, and water utilities. The Tantalus Utility Network helps utilities extend the capacity of their energy delivery infrastructure by giving them a snapshot of their entire distribution system at any point in time. This real-time network is designed specifically for utilities and supports outage management, power quality monitoring, advanced meter reading, load management, and distribution automation.