Itron Collaborates with sonnen to Add Battery Storage to its Distributed Energy Management and Demand Response Solutions

LIBERTY LAKE, Wash. — March 28, 2018 — Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI), a world-leading technology and services company dedicated to the resourceful use of energy and water, and sonnen, the global market leader in intelligent residential energy storage, have completed product integration of the sonnenBatterie eco with Itron’s IntelliSOURCE® Enterprise™ demand response management system (DRMS).

The integration of the sonnenBatterie allows Itron to dynamically maximize grid efficiency by storing and releasing energy. With over 30,000 installations worldwide, sonnen is already optimizing the energy pattern of a solar-powered home. By integrating this battery with IntelliSOURCE Enterprise, utilities will now be able to maximize benefits for the grid with the dispatch and coordination of these and other behind-the-meter (BTM) assets.

“Our collaboration with sonnen will help Itron deliver positive outcomes for utilities looking to take advantage of the capabilities for using distributed energy resources (DERs),” said Steve Hambric, Itron’s vice president of distributed energy management. “We plan to partner with several other similar DER vendors so that utilities can access a broad portfolio of DER to optimize the grid and provide the customer with new choices and value. Integration of this technology is critical to helping both utilities and consumers thrive in an industry where distributed energy resources are becoming more abundant.”

Itron is already working with sonnen on a pilot in California to manage the unique load shapes created by increased deployment of DER. The program will show customers, utilities and energy service companies how they can not only monitor to see the impact of DERs and loads behind the meter, but also forecast the impact of these DERs and automatically optimize the operation of these DERs to maximize customer and grid benefits.

“The team at sonnen believes in providing a clean and reliable energy future for all. By adding smart energy storage technology to solar homes, we are able to impact the way power is used both at the individual home level as well as at the utility-scale,” said Michelle Mapel, sonnen senior director of sales and marketing. “The integration of our storage solution with Itron’s DRMS allows utilities to control and manage stored energy resources using a proven and popular platform, which enables broader customer participation in the expansion of renewables and economic benefits on both sides of the meter.”