Raleigh, N.C., January 24, 2012 — Tantalus, a provider of smart grid communication systems, announced the commercial availability of the factory-integrated, TUNet-compatible Itron Sentinel commercial and industrial meter, newly equipped with Tantalus communication modules.

This development marks the first milestone of the partnership and follows within months of Itron and Tantalus announcing a joint effort to deliver smart grid communications and metering solutions to the public power market.

The TUNet-enabled Sentinel meter will allow utilities to immediately provide real-time interval data, advanced demand measurements, real-time power quality monitoring and flexible demand reset capabilities to their high-use C&I customers.

This expanded functionality positions the utility to offer a greater level of customer support while simultaneously enabling C&I customers to manage costs and complex pricing schedules more quickly and effectively.

Jackson Energy Authority, located in Tennessee, will be the first utility to receive the C&I meter for installation, leveraging the Tantalus Homerun fiber network it deployed last year.

Itron and Tantalus announced a strategic partnership in September of last year that will expand the offering of TUNet-enabled Sentinel and Centron metering products with an integrated network for multi-service public utilities across North and Central America and the Caribbean.

The companies are collaborating to unite Itron's installed base of millions of ERT modules with TUNet's two-way advanced communication platform, providing a strategic overlay smart grid solution for utilities to leverage existing infrastructure investments in their grid modernization strategies.