FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Bellingham, Wash., February 14, 2002 - Alpha Technologies, a world leading supplier of power protection products, announced today that a member of the Alpha Group of Companies has reached an agreement to acquire Colorado-based Altair Energy.

Altair is an established, value-added integrator of Photovoltaic and other distributed generation power systems for residential, small commercial and institutional applications. Business synergies between the two companies have led to the agreement, which officials report was finalized February 12, 2002.

“The acquisition of Altair Energy brings a new and exciting technology to our power technology portfolio,” commented Alpha President Warren J. Johnson. “Distributed generation has been an increasingly important element of our business model in recent years, and this acquisition shows our on-going commitment to this strategy,” he added.

Alpha Technologies just completed celebrating its twenty-fifth year in business and announced the shipment of its one-millionth power system. Additionally, the company has more than 100 megawatts of installed distributed generation power systems.

Altair Energy has in recent years emerged as a leading integrator of photovoltaic power systems. These systems convert power from the sun into consumable electricity to either augment or replace utility based power. The rising cost and questionable, long-term reliability of utility power has caused many consumers to look for alternative methods of meeting their power needs.

The acquisition also correlates with Alpha’s announcement of two new strategic business units focused on increasing the company’s world-wide revenue base. Altair will augment the Company’s Cogeneration business unit targeting residential, small commercial and institutional grid-tied power systems.

Alpha Technologies Inc. develops power conversion, protection and standby products for telecommunications and cable television industries, including custom, application-specific power solutions. In addition to product development, Alpha Technologies provides a comprehensive range of installation and maintenance services to support its global customer base. Alpha Technologies is a member of The Alpha Group of companies.

The Alpha Group represents a global alliance of independent companies that share a common philosophy - create world-class powering solutions for communication, commercial, industrial and renewable energy markets.

For this and/or additional information in electronic form, go to www.alpha.com.

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