Itron Announces Enhanced Data Features for its Innovative Water Communication Modules

MÂCON, France—Oct. 3, 2011—Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI) announced today that it is introducing new and unique features for its robust water communication modules, which when combined with mobile data collection devices, provide a cost-effective solution for water utilities. With Itron's newly released AnyQuest™ Enhanced and EverBlu™ Enhanced wireless communication modules, water providers will now be able to leverage abundant and detailed data to better manage their assets, secure revenues and engage customers in conservation programs.

For utilities looking to capture, store, manage and utilize intelligent water meter reads with a moderate financial investment, Itron's mobile data collection and newly, enhanced wireless communications offer an easy-to-use and reliable solution. Itron considers these needs and leverages its partnership approach to understand and analyze the challenges of each utility, and as a result, it has developed water communication modules that transmit interval meter data wirelessly to mobile collection devices in the field.

Additionally, water providers require proper meter sizing to manage assets and ensure the revenue stream. With Itron's new datalogging features, utilities can detect which meters in their system are either too large or too small based on the volume of water flowing through them. Timely access to this data improves utilities' supply network efficiency and helps provide accurate invoices.

Further, Itron's new datalogging and meter alarm features allow utilities to monitor their systems for fraud and meter tampering, ensuring revenue is protected. With Itron's technology, water providers benefit from the typical operational improvements when automating meter reading processes, including avoiding human errors or incorrect readings by meter readers. While the more advanced capabilities of Itron's enhanced water offering includes comparing expected usage against the recorded consumption profile using up to 181 stored intervals.

Another key capability of Itron's enhanced product is the double time-of-use index (TOU) that allows utilities to store a consumer's consumption both within a day interval and at a specific period of the year (i.e. when water usage is restricted). Utilities can benefit from this wealth of information by detecting abnormal water usage and encouraging customers to reduce water consumption at times when demand is high.

"Fundamental to our enhanced data features is that the intelligence has been directly placed in the communication module. With this approach, utilities can benefit from advanced data collection without major capital and operational investments in complex systems and infrastructures," said Gavin Van Tonder, Itron director marketing and systems, Water. "Our innovative communication module can be easily plugged on any water meter, and alarms and data can be displayed, even on a handheld terminal, so immediate action can be taken in the field."

To learn more about the enhanced data features available to water utilities outside of North America, visit the Itron booth at Metering Europe #C20.