Tantalus Systems nabs Kansas partnership

Smart grid technology company Tantalus Systems (Tantalus Systems Stock Quote, Charts, News, Analysts, Financials TSX:GRID) continues to build out its business, announcing on Tuesday a partnership with Kansas Municipal Energy Agency (KMEI) on implementing Tantalus’ smart grid solutions across the state and employing the company’s Tantalus Utility Network, or TUNet, product platform.

“Tantalus develops and delivers technology solutions to help public power and electric cooperative utilities digitally transform and automate their distribution grids to become more sustainable,” said Peter Londa, President & CEO of Tantalus Systems, in a March 1 press release. 

“We are honoured to include KMEA among the growing number of Joint Action Agencies that we serve and look forward to working alongside their team to ensure all member utilities in Kansas are able to access the necessary systems and tools to deliver reliable and cost-effective energy to their communities,” Londa said.

Burnaby, BC-based Tantalus uses edge computing and an IoT network approach to give clients access to data and analytics from advanced metering and intelligent devices to help make utilities more efficient and cost-effective. Tantalus’ smart grid solutions have been taken up by more and more utilities and municipalities, including, for example, in February the City of High Point, North Carolina, which contracted Tantalus to bring a purpose-built smart grid solution to the city’s electric and water distribution system.

For the new Kansas partnership, KMEA will help its 81 electric municipalities digitally transform their distribution grids through Tantalus’ solutions, with member utilities being able to access Tantalus’ software on KMEA’s hosted server. Three of KMEA’s members are starting to implement TUNet to help handle issues such as remote disconnect and reconnect of power, outage management and broader automation.

“In an effort to make smart grid investments accessible through shared services, this partnership provides all of our members with an equal opportunity to install an AMI system while reducing upfront expenditures for utilities,” said Paul Mahlberg, General Manager at KMEA, in the press release. 

“We partnered with Tantalus because of their flexible approach in providing utilities with a range of deployment options that meet the specific needs of our member utilities, and we look forward to providing our membership with additional support through our hosted offering of Tantalus’ software applications,” Mahlberg said.

Last month, Tantalus issued a 2022 business outlook which said the company expects to grow revenue by between 20 and 25 per cent year-over-year to hit between US$38.5 and US$40 million, with Tantalus’ revenue backlog for the year sitting at US$27 million.

“Tantalus is witnessing increased activity throughout its pipeline with improving visibility as utilities plan to modernize their grids to support enhanced resiliency and the proliferation of electric vehicles and distributed energy resources,” Tantalus said in a February 8 press release.

Disclosure: Tantalus Systems is an annual sponsor of Cantech Letter.