Electric Utility Veterans Join MicroPlanet Board of Directors.

Business Editors

EDMONDS, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 24, 2004

MicroPlanet, Ltd., developer of point of consumption voltage regulators that maximize the efficiency of electrical power grids, today announced the appointment of two electric utility industry veterans to its board of directors. David Freeman, an industry icon who was the first person to coordinate a U.S. national energy policy under President Lyndon Johnson, and Gary Swofford, former chief operating officer of Puget Sound Energy (PSE), the largest investor-owned electric and gas utility in the Northwest, joined the company's board. Their addition brings the total number of directors to five.

"For decades Dave and Gary have been among a handful of industry leaders whose foresight has led to the adoption of policies and innovative technologies that have improved the reliability and economics of our nation's electric utility infrastructure. Their addition to our board of directors underscores the growing confidence the industry has in the potential of MicroPlanet's products," said MicroPlanet CEO Brian Reidy. "We are fortunate to have such a well-rounded board -- made up of individuals with extraordinary experience across the financial, investor owned utility, public power and energy industries in the U.S. and Canada."

Freeman and Swofford, who was elected chairman of the board, join MicroPlanet's existing directors, Elwood "Woody" Howse, Garry Tanner, and company CEO Reidy.

MicroPlanet develops and manufactures innovative point of consumption voltage regulators that maximize the efficiency of the existing electric utility distribution system. North American voltage delivery standards have not been updated for more then 50 years, and as a result approximately 90 percent of homes in America receive more electricity than they need. By applying digital technologies to this condition MicroPlanet provides utilities a fast, cost effective and, easy way to resolve this structural inefficiency.

Freeman's distinguished career in the utility industry spans more than 40 years. He has been responsible for overseeing some of the nation's largest utilities in the public power sector, including the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the New York Power Authority, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, and the Tennessee Valley Authority. One of his recent roles was as chairman of the Board of the California Consumer Power and Conservation Financing Authority. Freeman also served as senior energy advisor to the Governor of California during the state's volatile energy situation of 2001 when he coordinated the state's successful conservation efforts.

Swofford has strong roots in the Pacific Northwest and most recently started an energy consulting firm. Prior to this, Swofford served as senior vice president and chief operating officer at Puget Sound Energy. In this role, he oversaw the operations of the utility including energy delivery, customer services, corporate planning, facilities and information technology. Swofford oversaw one of the largest implementations of digital technologies on the electric grid in the United States through the deployment of automated meters in the utility's service territory. Swofford's career at Puget Sound Energy spanned over 37 years with positions including vice president of Customer Operations, vice president of the Rates and Customers' Program, and director of the utility's Conservation and Division Services, to name a few.

Howse's career includes current positions on boards throughout the Puget Sound area, such as Advanced H20, BSQUARE Corporation, Perlego, Inc., OrthoLogic Corp. and the PowerTech Group, Inc. to name a few. In 1977, Mr. Howse co-founded Cable & Howse Ventures, a technology focused, early stage venture capital firm. Cable & Howse Ventures was the first professionally managed, institutionally funded venture capital firm in the Pacific Northwest. In 1982, Howse co-founded Cable, Howse & Ragen, investment banking and stock brokerage firm, today owned by Wells Fargo and known as Ragen, MacKenzie.

Tanner currently serves as senior vice president and chief operating officer of Enerplus Resources Fund, located in Calgary, Alberta. Enerplus is Canada's largest and oldest conventional oil and gas royalty trust. At Enerplus, Tanner is responsible for the oversight of ongoing operations, business development, and management of the company's portfolio of properties through mergers, acquisitions and divestitures. Prior to joining the company, Tanner served as senior vice president for EnCap Investments LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of El Paso Corporate and a leading provider of private equity capital to the upstream sector of the oil and gas industry.

About MicroPlanet, Ltd.

Based in Edmonds, Washington, MicroPlanet, Ltd. manufactures and sells products for electrical energy conservation and voltage compliance to large corporations and electric utilities. MicroPlanet's Enterprise Voltage Regulator (EVR) and Home Voltage Regulator (HVR) regulate the voltage delivered to a business or home, reducing the amount of electricity needed. The products also provide electric utilities a new tool for peak load reduction, conservation, low voltage mitigation and an interface for distributed generation.

For more information about MicroPlanet, go to www.microplanetltd.com

MicroPlanet is a trademark of MicroPlanet, Ltd. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are those of their respective companies.