Electricity Forecasting/Load Research Itron Launches MetrixND® 4.2 with Additional Functionality Read all about Itron's release of MetrixND 4.2, the latest version of the energy industry's most powerful and versatile forecasting tool. click here for more information Focused Meetings Provide Forecasters with Knowledge In May, Itron is hosting two meetings for energy forecasters. Receive more details relevant to both meetings and find directions for registering. click here for more information Itron Offers Free Load Research Online Seminar On Tuesday, April 29 at noon PST, Itron will present its second free Brown Bag seminar of 2008 titled "Comparison of Load Research Expansion Methods." click here for more information

Itron Launches MetrixND® 4.2 with Additional Functionality
		Itron has released MetrixND 4.2, the latest version of the energy industry's most powerful and versatile forecasting tool. This version offers additional model building functionality, more graphics that can be customized, and added statistics bringing unprecedented functionality, efficiency and control to energy forecasters. MetrixND is used for many forecasting processes, including short-term and long-term energy and demand forecasting, price
forecasting, individual customer load forecasting and financial forecasting. First released in 1997, Itron's MetrixND has more than 700 users from 160 utilities and energy companies representing nine countries. "Itron's energy forecasting customers know first hand the importance of an accurate forecast. Itron is proud to state that MetrixND is the most widely used energy forecasting tool in the world," said Frank Monforte, Itron director of forecasting. "As the leading provider of energy forecasting tools, Itron continually strives to deliver software that meets the varied needs of energy forecasters. Our customer base includes market operators responsible for 'keeping the lights on' in Australia, Canada, Europe and the U.S., energy retailers looking to meet their customer's energy demands, and utilities who ensure the delivery of energy now and into the future. MetrixND will be an important component of their success." MetrixND is at the core of Itron's automated forecasting solutions. These systems generate the forecasts used to schedule energy delivery and procurement in real-time markets and provide the foundation for financial forecasts. "The strength of MetrixND lies in its ability to produce accurate forecasts for a full range of energy forecasting problems, from short-term power systems operations to long-term financial and facilities planning. If it can be measured, then MetrixND can be used to forecast future values," adds Monforte. Learn more about MetrixND by visiting www.itron.com/forecasting.

Focused Meetings Provide Forecasters with Knowledge
		In May, Itron is hosting two meetings for energy forecasters. The annual Energy Forecasting Group (EFG) meeting will focus on long-term and end-use forecasting issues. Over 40 attendees are expected to discuss various topics including modeling residential DSM impacts, commercial and residential sales trends across the U.S., and hear from Energy Information Administration representatives about the latest Annual Energy Outlook residential and commercial projections.
The second annual ISO/RTO forecasting summit provides forecasters from the various ISO, RTO and Market Operators, located throughout the world, a place to discuss the unique forecasting challenges that they face. This meeting of like-minds focuses on short-term, sub-hourly and long-term forecasting topics, methodologies and other common issues. To learn more about these meetings, visit www.itron.com/forecastingworkshops.

Itron Offers Free Load Research Online Seminar
		On Tuesday, April 29, at noon PST, Itron will present its second free Brown Bag seminar of 2008 titled "Comparison of Load Research Expansion Methods." Three methods are commonly used to expand load research sample data to represent the population: mean per unit, combined ratio and separate ratio. Although the mathematics of these methods is well understood, subtle differences in the calculation specifics can make a significant difference.
For the ratio methods, there are several alternatives for the auxiliary variable and there are no guidelines for best practices in this area. The purpose of this Brown Bag is to review the alternative methods, to compare results from alternative methods and to highlight the conditions under which a specific method is preferred. The results show the synergy between forecasting and load research, focusing on how good load research can improve forecasting models and how good forecasting can improve load research results. To register, please click here. If you've missed the date, send an email to forecasting@itron.com to request the recording.