Itron to Provide Online Prepayment System for EDM

Itron - 05.26.2011

Itron Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI) announced today that it has been awarded a contract with EDM, the national electricity company of Mozambique, for products and services to optimize the country’s prepaid electricity program. This contract will enable Mozambican consumers to prepay for their electricity through a variety of vending channels across the country. Itron will supply and develop a customized server, communications network infrastructure and vending hardware in order to implement a single, online prepayment system for the entire nation. The deployment will start in July 2011 and is expected to be completed within a year and a half.

To date, EDM has approximately 740,000 consumers using its prepayment meters. These meters are managed by 15 isolated, unconnected servers and through a commercial network of 142 associated sales outlets. Itron will merge the information from these offline servers and migrate it into one centralized online system, which can accommodate over 1 million customers.

The new Itron solution will also allow consumers to purchase prepaid electricity at a variety of additional locations beyond the current EDM retail network. Prepaid vouchers will be available at ATMs, via the Internet, through mobile phone text message and even in the streets via itinerant salesmen.

EDM technicians will be trained on the new system by Itron which is also providing the system IT support for the contract period, while the communications network will be implemented by Internet Solutions, a Dimension Data company.

“Itron is helping us to make prepaid electricity more accessible to our customers. Thanks to this new system, our customers will be able to buy electricity anywhere in the country - not just in the area where they live. This is one of the great innovations of this system,” said Manuel Cuambe, EDM’s Chairman. “This contract is also part of our investment program for the development of electricity infrastructure, and will provide increased access to services in the country.”

According to Damian Padachi, managing director of Itron Southern and Eastern Africa, “After Zambia and Angola, amongst others, this contract greatly increases Itron’s footprint in the region and strengthens our position as the leading supplier of electricity prepayment solutions. We’re pleased to work alongside EDM as it enhances its service offering to residents of Mozambique.”

About Itron:

At Itron, we’re dedicated to delivering end-to-end smart grid and smart distribution solutions to electric, gas and water utilities around the globe. Our company is the world’s leading provider of smart metering, data collection and utility software systems, with nearly 8,000 utilities worldwide relying on our technology to optimize the delivery and use of energy and water. Our offerings include electricity, gas, water and heat meters; network communication technology; collection systems and related software applications; and professional services. To realize your smarter energy and water future, start here: www.itron.com.

About EDM

Electricity in Mozambique, E.P. (EDM) is a state-owned utility, belonging 100% to the State of Mozambique. It is responsible for generation, transmission, distribution and commercialization of electricity over the country. Decree N° 43/2005 provides EDM with management of the national electricity network. Its installed capacity is made of 140 MW hydroelectric (86 MW operational) and 109 MW (82 MW operational) thermal. EDMs turnover in 2009 is 180 MUSD, for 3.532 employees and 850.500 clients.

For additional information, contact:
Isabelle Sèvegrand
Itron International Communications Director
+33 5 49 62 70 44
isabelle.sevegrand@itron.com