Black Hills Utility Holdings, Inc. Begins Full-Scale Deployment of Itron Advanced Gas Modules

LIBERTY LAKE, Wash. — August 17, 2010— Itron Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI) announced today that the natural gas distribution companies of Black Hills Utility Holdings Inc. (Black Hills Energy), located in Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado, have begun deploying 100G Datalogging gas ERT® modules from Itron. The deployment schedule will provide Black Hills Energy the opportunity to fully use the latest Itron technologies and system capabilities.

The 100G Datalogging gas ERT module, part of the Itron ChoiceConnect™ suite of data collection systems, will allow Black Hills Energy to collect daily or hourly customer meter data, offering increased operational efficiency and enhanced levels of customer service through additional accuracy and timeliness of information. Access to frequent meter data will facilitate improvements in bill reconciliations and reduce truck rolls for off-cycle reads.

“We are excited about the new technologies and capabilities offered by Itron,” said Terry Perkins, director of customer account services and process improvements at Black Hills Energy. “The ability to collect advanced meter data will offer us a wide range of operational improvements to better serve our customers today and into the future. We also anticipate additional benefits such as greater accuracy in natural gas load forecasting.”

With ChoiceConnect, Black Hills Energy will be able to use Itron’s drive-by system to collect 40 days of daily reads. The ability to collect data logging with a mobile or fixed network system enables Black Hills Energy to deploy a hybrid collection system or migrate between systems, depending on evolving business needs. “ChoiceConnect offers different ways to collect interval meter data. Its flexibility provides us with effective options going forward and will increase the value of our field assets,” said Perkins.

ChoiceConnect’s flexibility in collecting advanced meter data and Itron’s proven technical support were the main reason Black Hills Energy chose Itron.

“Spread out over a geographically diverse service territory, Black Hills Energy demands a system that can adapt to different requirements. ChoiceConnect offers them the advanced capabilities to best serve their customers,” said Carl Porter, marketing director of gas solutions for Itron. “Itron has a long history with Black Hills Energy, and we are pleased to help them with their next generation communication technology.”