Itron CEO Emphasizes Strong Support for NIST Smart Grid Standards Interoperability Initiative

LIBERTY LAKE, Wash.--(Business Wire)--
Itron Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI) announced today that its chief executive officer,
Malcolm Unsworth, during a meeting with Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Commerce
Secretary Gary Locke, has reaffirmed the importance of embracing
interoperability standards as essential to the deployment of Smart Grid
technologies

The announcement was made in conjunction with smart grid standards workshops
being conducted by the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) in
Washington, D.C. Itron supports NIST coordination efforts and is participating
in the workshops this week.

In his comments to the secretaries, Unsworth stated:

"Our worldwide leadership and familiarity with smart metering and the rapidly emerging smart grid provides us with a tremendous amount of knowledge and experience, especially concerning open standards and interoperability. As a result, Itron will be fully
extending IP support within its market-leading advanced metering solution, OpenWay®, down to the edge device to support smart grid applications beyond AMI. This, in conjunction with the use of the ANSI C12.22 and Zigbee Smart Energy standards, and other
applicable standards to be defined through the NIST initiative will ensure full implementation of the smart grid vision."

Itron holds the top spot for contracted market share for advanced meters in
North America. Large AMI contracts include San Diego Gas & Electric for 2.3
million meters, Houston-based CenterPoint Energy with 2.4 million meters,
Detroit-based DTE Energy with 3.3 million meters, and Southern California Edison
(SCE), which has already begun implementation of 5.3 million smart meters.

Don Cortez, CenterPoint Energy division vice president of Regulated Operations
Technology, said, "We are pleased to see Itron`s continued leadership in ongoing
standards discussions. The ability to easily incorporate multiple standards and
updates into our existing investment is important to our concept that systems
should be able to support any future requirements mandated by the market."

Paul De Martini, SCE vice president of Advanced Technology, said, "We selected
the Itron OpenWay solution precisely because of its adaptability to a broad set
of standards, including IP and C12.22, and because it allows upgrades over the
air to devices already deployed in the field. Itron`s industry leadership
concerning standards development and robust implementation of cyber security is
crucial for our advanced metering and smart grid implementation."

Itron plays a key role in developing smart grid standards by engaging with and
providing thought leadership to groups such as the UCA International Users
Group, American National Standard Institute (ANSI), the Electric Power Research
Institute (EPRI), NIST, IEEE, and the ZigBee Alliance. As a member of the board
of directors for the ZigBee Alliance, Itron played a key role in supporting the
Alliance`s recently announced decision to further integrate IP standards into
ZigBee specifications.

About Itron:

Itron Inc. is a leading technology provider to the global energy and water
industries. Our company is the world`s leading provider of intelligent metering,
data collection and utility software solutions, with nearly 8,000 utilities
worldwide relying on our technology to optimize the delivery and use of energy
and water. Our products include electricity, gas, water and heat meters, data
collection and communication systems, including automated meter reading (AMR)
and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI); meter data management and related
software applications; as well as project management, installation, and
consulting services. To know more, start here: www.itron.com.

Itron Inc.
Deloris Duquette, 509-891-3523
Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
deloris.duquette@itron.com
or
Itron Communications and Marketing
Kim Papich, 509-891-3590
kim.papich@itron.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009