LIBERTY LAKE, Wash.—April 4, 2012—Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI) announced today that Burlington Electric Department (BED) of Burlington, Vt. has selected Itron's smart grid solution to more efficiently and reliably manage its electric grid.

A municipally-owned electric utility serving approximately 16,000 residential customers and more than 3,600 commercial customers, BED's smart grid project will include20,000 Itron smart meters, network communication infrastructure and professional services. BED will leverage an American Recovery and Reinvestment (ARRA) Smart Grid Investment Grant received through Vermont Transco to fund the project, which is scheduled to be complete in early 2013.

Itron's smart grid solution will help BED streamline its meter data collection and billing operations and provide more granular system load data, giving BED the ability to enhance energy forecasting and optimize its distribution system. It will also give BED the ability to support future rate structure regulations and to leverage the solution's outage reporting to streamline restoration efforts.

BED will also have the ability to perform on demand reads as well as remote disconnects and reconnects with the solution. With a highly-transient student population in Burlington that results in an average turnover of 6,000 residential accounts between May and August, this capability will be especially beneficial to BED, providing increased operational efficiency and improved customer service.

"Burlington Electric Department sought technology to improve system planning and reliability, improve customer service, and reduce costs," said Ken Nolan, manager of power resources at BED. "With Itron's solution, we can achieve these objectives and build a smarter electric grid."

"I'm pleased that Itron's technology will help advance the smart grid in Burlington, Vt. It is projects like these that truly illustrate the business and environmental benefits of the smart grid in our communities," saidMark deVere-White, senior vice president of Itron Energy Group in North America and Latin America. "Delivering safe, reliable energy is the main mission of the smart grid, and utilities like Burlington Electric Department with grid modernization projects lead the way for other North American cities and towns."