Itron honored for market leadership

LIBERTY LAKE, WA, Oct. 9, 2007 -- Itron Inc. announced today that it is the recipient of the 2007 North American Frost & Sullivan Market Leadership Award in the electric meter market, with nearly 45 percent of the North American revenue share.

The Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognizes companies that demonstrate outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service and strategic product development.

"Itron's dominance in this industry has shown it has the strong business acumen to move past growth through acquisition to a sustainable business model that continues to thrive," said Roberta Gamble, Director, Energy & Power Supplies Group for Frost & Sullivan. "Being vertically integrated helps make Itron a preferred vendor for utilities, where the value proposition is solidified because Itron can provide all the major pieces of an AMR/AMI system, from equipment to software and services. Frost & Sullivan research indicates Itron will remain a dominant market participant for years to come."

Gamble said Itron's production of solid-state meters in the U.S. gives the company superior capacity and control of meter production, placing it in a better position to satisfy the major orders that are expected in the current automated meter reading (AMR), advanced metering infrastructure (AMI)-driven market. Itron possesses all the necessary capabilities to complete a deployment alone, but also has the open architecture to work with other companies, providing additional flexibility for utilities.

"We are excited to receive an award from such an authoritative global growth consulting company," said Philip Mezey, senior vice president and COO, Itron North America. "As a pioneer and leader in solid-state metering, it seems appropriate that we continue that best-in-class tradition into the smart meter, AMI market. With the OpenWay™ by Itron CENTRON® meter, Itron is providing support for the ongoing development and expansion of the smart grid."

The leadership award also recognizes Itron's diverse technology capabilities, such as Itron's software suite, anchored by Itron Enterprise Edition meter data management solution. Itron software offerings include revenue assurance, customer care, complex billing, demand response, distribution asset analysis and load research. In addition, Itron offers distribution system design software, mobile workforce management, energy forecasting and a range of consulting businesses that focus on renewable, energy efficiency and demand response.

Itron Inc. is a leading technology provider to the global energy and water industries.

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Consulting Company, partners with clients to accelerate their growth.

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