
	March 2008

25 Million Gas Modules Shipped — An Unprecedented Milestone

Itron has reached a milestone that no one in our industry has ever seen. The company recently shipped its 25 millionth gas automated meter reading (AMR) module from its Waseca, Minn., manufacturing plant.

According to the 2007 Scott Report, an annual independent research report on automated meter reading deployments, the 25 million Itron gas AMR modules represent 78 percent of all gas

AMR modules shipped to date by the industry. Itron's leading market position in the gas segment has been bolstered by successive years of record gas meter module shipments for the company: in 2006, Itron shipped nearly 3.2 million gas meter modules, followed by more than 3.7 million gas meter modules in 2007.

Waseca, Minn., is the birthplace of gas AMR where Itron shipped its first module or ERT (encoder, receiver transmitter) in 1986. AMR emerged from a need for utilities to obtain meter reads from indoor gas meters through automation. It took 18 years, from 1986 to 2004, for Itron to ship the first 15 million gas AMR modules, but thanks to the accelerated growth of automation among gas utilities, it has only taken three years, from 2004 to 2007, to ship the next 10 million.

"In the past two-and-a half-years, we have taken production from 40,000 to more than 70,000 gas modules per week in Waseca," said Bob Whitney, general manager of Itron manufacturing in Waseca. "Recent automation improvements such as our automated optical inspection and computer-aided process enforcement tools, have enabled us to ramp up production capacity and efficiency while also assuring continuous improvement in quality. As a result, we are able to manufacture large volumes of world-class product at a very competitive cost, right here in the USA."

"Gas utilities are becoming increasingly aware of the cost and customer service benefits of AMR technology and the vast majority has selected Itron as their preferred technology partner," said Carl Porter, director of Itron gas product line. "No other company has come close to such a milestone in the industry. This happens when you offer an exceptional product, service and support to customers. We thank our sales force, our factory workers, and our customers for this great milestone."

Itron Launches Powerful, Next Generation Drive-By Meter Data Collection System to Maximize Efficiency and Reduce Utility Costs

Itron is proud to announce the commercial availability of its next generation of mobile collection, the MC3, a powerful wireless automated meter reading (AMR) solution that provides utilities with advanced radio technology and advanced AMR capabilities.

The latest addition to Itron's ChoiceConnect™ suite of AMR solutions, the MC3 has the ability to read up to 10,000 electricity, gas and water meters per minute, far exceeding the read

performance for any other mobile AMR system on the market. Powered by Itron's new SRead™ radio technology, the MC3 dramatically increases read performance and reliability by simultaneously listening for ERT signals across 80 different channels within the 900 MHz spread spectrum. In addition, SRead's multi-channel architecture and advanced antenna design enable the MC3 to isolate and slice through radio frequency (RF) "noise" and interference to ensure optimal reading performance in difficult RF environments where other systems are operating in the same band.

The MC3 also features an advanced mapping application to further optimize read performance and routing. The GPS Mapping System provides the operator with immediate visual representation of endpoint locations and read confirmation. This virtually eliminates the need for time consuming re-reads or collecting skipped reads, thereby reducing meter reading times and fuel consumption, and improving worker productivity.

"For the many utilities and municipalities seeking the proven cost benefits, productivity gains and customer service improvements of mobile AMR technology, Itron's MC3 is the best solution on the market," said Russ Vanos, vice president of marketing for Itron. "The MC3 delivers superior RF technology and reading performance, along with advanced functionality through our partnership with Eka Systems for remote demand reset and TOU data collection. We believe that's an unbeatable combination for utilities seeking a strong return on their AMR investment."

Sealing Meters for our Northern Neighbors

Based in Owenton, Ky., Actaris U.S. Gas, Inc., has officially earned accreditation from Measurement Canada to seal residential and commercial diaphragm meters. Actaris achieved accreditation in January. This achievement allows the Owenton facility to seal meters for Canadian utilities as a service to the Canadian natural gas market.

Actaris, an Itron company, is a world-class meter manufacturer using processes that ensure customer satisfaction. The process of accreditation from Measurement Canada is very demanding. A Measurement Canada representative was on-site for four weeks verifying and validating Actaris' equipment and environmental controls as well as performing the final audit. Having a Quality Management System that is ISO 9001:2000 certified has enabled Actaris' facility

to meet many of the accreditation requirements from the beginning, allowing Actaris to focus on the testing equipment- and process-side of the certification. The Owenton facility was able to meet and exceed accreditation requirements in less than nine months, demonstrating its commitment to providing meter excellence and exceeding customer needs.

Actaris is proud to be a Measurement Canada Accredited facility.

Gas Module Delivery Wins Top Honors from Southwest Gas

"Contained herein is a certificate of achievement in recognition of your company's outstanding on time delivery performance throughout 2007." Not a bad way for a business letter to start out if you ask us.

These are the opening lines from an award recently received by Itron from Southwest Gas Corporation. The letter goes on to state that Itron is being recognized for on time delivery rate performance of 97 percent for gas endpoint shipments in 2007.

Southwest annually recognizes its vendors that achieve on time delivery rates of 95 percent or higher. By the end of 2008, Itron will have shipped nearly 1.8 million gas endpoints to Southwest. Says Carl Porter, director of Itron's gas product line, "To be recognized for delivering such a high volume of gas endpoints in a timely and concise manner is a wonderful compliment to our team."

The shipments are part of an agreement signed in March 2006 for Itron to help Southwest automate more than 1 million natural gas meters in the three metropolitan areas of Phoenix, Las Vegas and Tucson through mid-2009. Utilizing ChoiceConnect™, Itron's proven approach to automated meter reading (AMR), the deployment includes gas ERT modules, as well as mobile data collection technology, application software and related implementation and project management services. By the time the project is complete, Southwest, whose customer base grew by more than 70,000 customers in 2006, will have automated more than 1.7 million gas meters in three states (Arizona, Nevada and California) using Itron AMR technology.

Based in Las Vegas, Nevada, Southwest Gas, a longtime Itron customer, first began deploying Itron AMR technology in 1996 in its Lake Tahoe service area. In recent years, Southwest also began installing Itron technology on all new meters in new developments to take advantage of AMR technology. This is the second year in a row Itron has been honored for on time delivery by Southwest.

Nationally, to date, Itron has shipped more than 25 million gas AMR modules from its Waseca, Minnesota, manufacturing plant. According the 2007 Scott Report, this represents 78 percent of all gas AMR modules shipped to date by the industry.