Actaris Awarded Contract for Prepayment Pilot by KPLC

LIBERTY LAKE, Wash. — March 13, 2009 — Actaris, an Itron company, announced todaythat it has signed a prepaid metering contract with the Kenyan electrical utility, Kenya Power & Lighting Company (KPLC). The pilot phase of the project will commence in April this year, and will provide 25,000 customers with Prepayment Single Phase meters supported by the associated Eclipse online vending system. KPLC owns and operates the national transmission and distribution grid and provides electricity to more than 1.2 million customers throughout Kenya. KPLC connects an additional 200,000 customers each year.

This contract is the result of a successful Prepayment pilot in early 2008. Actaris was awarded the contract due to the performance of the Online Eclipse Vending System and Fieldmappa spatial analysis tools. The meter installation process will be performed by KPLC in Nairobi. The long term objective is to convert most residential customers to prepayment. Actaris' experience in managing large installed bases of several million meters, as well as having qualified local representation, factored into KPLC's decision.

This project confirms Actaris as one of the largest providers of Electricity Prepayment meters in Eastern Africa. Utilities in this region are looking for ways to cost effectively provide electricity to the millions of people living in precarious economic conditions in this area. Actaris is uniquely positioned to provide a solution that generates advance cash flow, eliminates customer debt, reduces the risk of fraud and minimizes the costs of meter reading and billing. Utility disconnections are no longer required since the consumer has full control over their account and utility revenue is safeguarded.

"Prepaid metering has many benefits. It gives customers a visual indication of their electricity consumption rate, and allows them to manage their own electricity usage", said Eng. Joseph K. Njoroge, CEO of KPLC. "Prepaid meters avoid disconnection charges for non-payment and provide a convenient system for customers to purchase electricity conveniently. Prepaid metering also allows KPLC to collect money for its services upfront, hence improving revenues".

"We are thrilled that our end-to-end Prepayment solutions have been selected by KPLC. This confirms the leadership of our technology and we are looking forward to demonstrating our ability to deliver the best value in the Industry during this pilot", said Christophe Viarnaud, Managing Director of Actaris Southern & Eastern Africa.