Itron Confirms Commitment to International Water Cooperation on World Water Day

LIBERTY LAKE, Wash.—March 22, 2013—Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI), announced today, on World Water Day, it welcomes the United Nations (UN) initiative to declare 2013 as the "International Year of Water Cooperation." Pressure on resources has never been so high, and all the stakeholders need to work hand in hand for better management of water. As a global technology company, Itron works daily with its customers and partners to optimize the management of water distribution across the world. With increasing world population, economic growth and climate change, it is critical to anticipate needs, optimize distribution, reduce water losses and collaborate in order to address water stress.

"Managing water today is a hugely important global challenge" said Marcel Regnier, president and chief operating officer for Itron Water. "Water is a precious and vital resource which needs to be managed in a responsible way. At Itron we believe that only what is measured can be managed and valued."

According to the UN, water stress is defined as a "lack of water of a satisfactory quality to respond to human and environmental needs." In May 2012, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) estimated that by 2050 nearly 4 billion people would suffer from acute water stress. Within this context, the need to promote a more responsible and sustainable approach to water management is becoming more and more urgent. Itron provides utilities with tools and innovative services that allow them to manage the distribution network more efficiently, reduce losses, set up progressive and social tariffs and enable consumers to better manage their consumption.

The following are a few examples of how Itron's technology helps address water stress. In Western Australia, the city of Kalgoorlie is totally dependent on Perth, which is 600 km away, for its supplies of fresh water. As a result, the cost of water distribution is particularly high. A conservation program has been put into place to manage distribution and wastage. Thanks to the deployment of Itron's fixed network system water consumption has been reduced by seven percent over the past two years. The availability of consumption profiles on a web portal, combined with leaks alerts, has helped to engage consumers in a more sustainable way of using water.

Malta is an island faced with the challenge of delivering an affordable, secure water supply to its residents but it lacks natural water resources. With the delivery of smart water meters as part of a large scale smart water grid initiative, Itron provided a foundation for residents to track and manage their consumption allowing for better management of water reserves.

In Georgia (USA), the Clayton County Water Authority (CCWA) was faced with non-revenue water losses nearing 20 percent. With Itron's leak detection solution, the utility has been able to find and repair costly leaks. Since 2000, CCWA has repaired 669 leaks and reduced its non-revenue water loss to nine percent, resulting in 6.2 billion gallons of recovered water.

Finally, in Africa, where water distribution is one of the cornerstones for development, Itron will provide educational trainings for future engineers in the field of water metering. This is part of a partnership agreement signed in June 2012 with the International Institute for Water and Environmental Engineering, 2iE based at Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) and further demonstrates Itron's commitment to international cooperation.

"In Africa, sustainable water management is critical to support increasing population and economic growth" said Paul Ginies, CEO 2iE. "For this reason, we want to give young people the capacity to understand future social and environmental issues and provide them with tools to address these issues in an innovative way. Today, we have the ability to meet these challenges thanks to long-lasting and efficient partnerships with the private sector, such as the agreement signed with Itron."