Central Maine Power Chooses Itron Enterprise Edition™ Software for Smart Grid Initiative

LIBERTY LAKE, Wash. — December 15, 2010 — Itron Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI) announced today that Central Maine Power Company (CMP), a subsidiary of Iberdrola USA, has chosen Itron Enterprise Edition Meter Data Management (IEE MDM). CMP also selected a companion product, IEE Customer Care suite, for Web presentment. The solution will support a complex set of business and functional requirements for the utility’s advanced smart grid project.

CMP will modernize its existing electric grid and improve customer engagement by leveraging the performance, reliability and flexibility of Itron’s IEE solution running on Microsoft’s SQL Server 2008 database. This data can be utilized to support programs that enable customers to make changes in the way they use electricity—and ultimately in how much they spend.

As a proven, out-of-the-box solution, IEE MDM provides the foundation to deliver high volume meter data to key enterprise applications, while IEE Customer Care provides consumers with Web access to a comprehensive view of their energy usage. SQL Server 2008 delivers an enterprise-class, scalable and secure database that is tightly integrated with IEE to enable advanced analytics and reporting for a variety of applications. This combined solution eases project deployment, streamlines IT infrastructure and lowers total cost of ownership.

“CMP is investing $1.6 billion in smart grid technology and system upgrades to enhance reliability, service, and consumer features, because we want to keep improving the customer experience,” said Sara Burns, president and CEO of CMP.

“CMP has made an excellent choice in selecting Itron’s MDM solution,” said Jon Arnold, Microsoft’s worldwide managing director, Power & Utilities. “In tests of IEE MDM on SQL Server, we determined that SQL Server meets or exceeds performance and scalability demands for the data import necessary to satisfy large-scale installations upward of 9 million residential AMI hourly interval meters. We are confident this architecture has the flexibility and scale to meet the future and growing needs of CMP’s customers, coupled with the security and reduced total cost of ownership required by the utilities industry.”

“We are pleased that another Iberdrola company has selected IEE MDM. With approximately 48 million meters worldwide utilizing Itron Enterprise Edition, Itron stands apart in its ability to deliver a scalable and reliable meter data management and Web presentment solution to CMP,” said Julie Hance, vice president of software solutions for Itron. “Itron’s understanding of the smart grid business process and how to integrate an MDM system is unsurpassed in this market, and our technologies are helping consumers save money, conserve energy and benefit the environment. CMP joins a growing list of utilities relying on Itron for their successful smart grid deployments.”