Itron Builds Second Water PlayPump at Relekile Primary School in Kuruman, South Africa

LIBERTY LAKE, Wash.—Dec. 9, 2013—Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI) announced today that following the successful launch of the PlayPump at Tshwarelela Primary School in Kimberly earlier this year, Itron has built a water PlayPump at the Relekile Primary School in Kuruman, South Africa. The Relekile Primary School is situated in the Ditshoswaneng village in the Ga-Segonyana Local Municipality area in the Northern Cape. Kuruman is a very dry and arid area of the Kalahari Desert. The PlayPump was built as part of an innovative collaboration with Itron's customer and local utility Ga-Segonyana Local Municipality.

As part of its social responsibility program, Itron, in conjunction with the local utility, installed the PlayPump at Relekile Primary School. As the children play, the merry-go-round's motion powers the pump, which draws clean water into a 2,500-litre storage tank for drinking, washing, cleaning and watering the school's vegetable garden.This corporate social responsibility initiative is a part of a broader program to address affordability and accessibility of energy and water in the communities Itron serves.

"Before the installation of the PlayPump, we suffered water shortages daily at the school," said Relekile Primary School Principal Buyiswa Cynthia Molebalwa. "When water is available from the electrical pump in the village, it only works between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. with regular cutoffs, which can last days. The school also has a 'no fee' structure and therefore no funding comes from the parents as most are unemployed."

The water PlayPump at the Relekile Primary School was officially launched at a formal gathering on November 19. The event was attended by Itron representatives alongside core dignitaries of the Ga-Segonyana Local Municipality, including Village Chief Oduetse Khwane. According to Principal Molebalwa, the school governing body, teachers and students were grateful to receive a water PlayPump.

With the new PlayPump, Relekile Primary School can extract up to 450 liters of water an hour.Itron will also provide ongoing maintenance, dramatically reducing the school's water costs and enabling the school to reallocate funds to student programs. Access to this free water also enables the expansion of the school's vegetable garden into a community garden that allows residents to grow food and help the community.

In addition to the installation of the water PlayPumps, Itron will soon install its water meters on the PlayPump storage tank at both the Tshwarelele Primary School and the Relekile Primary School in order to measure the water used. This will help create greater awareness of how to protect precious water resources.