GRTgaz Selects Itron for its Forecasting Energy Demand Solution

LIBERTY LAKE, Wash. — Sept. 23, 2014 — Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI) announced today that it has been chosen by GRTgaz, a leading natural gas transmission system operator in Europe, to provide its consumption forecasting solution. A proven leader in energy forecasting, Itron provides solutions that help balance supply with demand in today's energy marketplace. This hourly forecasting solution enables GRTgaz to better anticipate natural gas demand and improve consumption forecast management.

Itron's forecasting solution is a fully configurable client/server application that automates many forecasting functions as well as implementation and integration services. The solution uses historical consumption data and weather forecasts to generate and archive consumption forecasts. For GRTgaz, Itron managed the solution integration and provided training to GRTgaz engineers.

"We are very pleased to be collaborating with Itron on this project, which enables GRTgaz to supply our clients with more reliable individual forecasts of their consumption at more frequent intervals and with greater geographical accuracy," said Frédéric Mours, head of the programming department at GRTgaz. "Thanks to Itron's demand forecasting solution, GRTgaz is able to provide better forecasts for managing the network on an hourly basis and comply with new European network balancing regulations."

European regulation requires natural gas transmission system operators to make public the supply and demand on their network and therefore, consumption forecasts. In addition, the French Commission for Energy Regulation (CRE) asked GRTgaz to provide each energy supplier with consumption forecasts for their customers connected to distribution networks. The CRE has also established indicators and incentives on the quality of the consumption forecast per balancing zone.

"Itron has been recognized as an expert in energy forecasting for many years. Companies look to us for load forecasting and distribution system planning guidance," said Stuart McMenamin, managing director, forecasting solutions at Itron.

"We are very pleased that GRTgaz has continued confidence in Itron to implement a gas demand forecasting solution that is both accurate and flexible," said Guillaume Garros, gas sales director for southern Europe at Itron. "Itron's unique capacity to generate multiple forecasts of individual consumption patterns will help GRTgaz manage the supply and demand of natural gas and provide its clients with more regular information."