BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau—March 7, 2011—Itron, Inc.(NASDAQ: ITRI) announced today that Electricidade e Agua da Guinee Bissau (EAGB), the national power and water utility in Guinea-Bissau, has completed the implementation of Itron's electricity prepayment technology. This deployment is part of the Emergency Electricity and Water Rehabilitation Project, which was launched in 2008 by the World Bank. Itron's solution ensures that all consumers have full control over their electricity accounts and enhances the utility's operations and revenue stream.

The objective of the Emergency Electricity and Water Rehabilitation Project is to assist the government of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau with rapidly restoring its electricity and water network and improving the current supply services in its capital city, Bissau. The electricity portion of the project includes funding 5 megawatts of generation capacity. Additionally, within the scope of the rehabilitation project, the utility will pilot biomass-based power generation.

"We are delighted with this proven solution. Using Itron's technology, we are opening six points of sale to greatly improve electricity access and control for our customers," stated Mr. Alexandre Sampaio e Melo, general director of EAGB. "From an operational perspective, we expect cash-flow improvements as customers will be paying for their electricity upfront, which will eliminate delinquent accounts and decrease fraud risks."

Itron's prepayment metering solution is critical to the utility's ability to manage and optimize electricity supply. Today, the utility's meter assets are not standardized, resulting in added costs to the utility. Itron's solution includes prepayment meters, as well as the associated meter data management software and vending system to collect and store meter data.

"Itron takes great pride in helping the national electricity and power utility in Guinea-Bissau put a reliable system in place that provides local communities with easy access to electricity," said Remy Brill, regional vice president and managing director, Itron Energy Group. "Our involvement with the World Bank's rehabilitation project is rewarding because our prepayment solution puts the right infrastructure in place to manage supply and conserve resources in a region where both are critical. With the growing adoption of prepay metering, other developing countries are expected to benefit from this technology too."

For more details about the World Bank's rehabilitation program in Guinea-Bissau, click here.