Company’s Grid Edge Intelligence Portfolio Enables Unprecedented Visibility and Control Across the Electric Distribution Grid
Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI), which is innovating new ways for utilities and cities to manage energy and water, is showcasing its innovative Grid Edge Intelligence portfolio, which is providing new capabilities for electric grid operators to address critical operational challenges, at DISTRIBUTECH International in Orlando, Florida, Feb. 27-29, 2024.
Utilities are experiencing increased electricity demand driven by the electrification of transportation and an influx of distributed energy resources (DERs). This is creating more complexity for grid operators in balancing supply and demand, and for utility customer services teams that actively engage with consumers who own and operate DERs, such as electric vehicles or residential solar systems. These trends, coupled with the impacts of extreme weather and aggressive decarbonization goals, are putting more pressure on utilities to deliver reliable and safe energy.
“Together with our customers and strategic partners, Itron is leading the effort to provide utilities with greater visibility and control at the edge of the electric distribution network at scale,” said Don Reeves, senior vice president of Outcomes at Itron. “Utilities are operating in a more complex environment than ever before and there is a real sense of urgency that change is needed to ensure grid reliability, resiliency and sustainability, and improve the customer experience. Our expertise in delivering intelligently connected solutions across the distribution network can help our customers address these challenges in a cost-effective, scalable way.
“According to our customers, Itron’s Grid Edge Intelligence portfolio can enhance grid capacity by approximately 20% through the optimization of existing grid assets, delaying the immediate need to invest in more infrastructure to balance the grid. These non-wires alternative solutions help reduce operating and maintenance costs, increase effectiveness of planning and operations, and ease the transition to renewables,” added Reeves.
Itron’s proven Grid Edge Intelligence portfolio provides utilities with greater visibility and more control at the grid edge to better manage the integration of increasingly distributed and intermittent loads and supply sources amid rising energy demand. The solutions within the Itron portfolio offer extended visibility to millions of devices that a utility has below the substation, including feeders, transformers, meters and behind-the-meter devices. Building on Itron’s Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) solution, featuring distributed intelligence (DI), with advanced applications such as Itron’s grid edge Distributed Energy Resources Management System (DERMS), Grid Edge Intelligence optimizes capacity locally where it is needed. Grid edge analytics give utilities visibility and control from the meter to the transformer and all the way to the substation while empowering consumers to conserve energy usage.
The solutions within the Grid Edge Intelligence portfolio build on Itron’s proven scale with more than 89 million endpoints under management, 8 million DI-enabled meters shipped, and millions of DI applications licensed as of the end of September 2023, delivering unprecedented results to multiple utilities every day.
“Over the foreseeable future, the integration of behind-the-meter DERs is one of the most pressing concerns for network operators. Real-time control and visibility across millions of devices is only possible through real-time automation and edge computing powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). This emerging reality increasingly demands AI-driven techniques and solutions for the detection, disaggregation and optimization of DERs,” said Mike Kelly, senior research analyst at Guidehouse.
Itron’s Grid Edge Intelligence Portfolio at DISTRIBUTECH
Several key solutions within Itron’s Grid Edge Intelligence portfolio will be on display, including:
- Intelligent Connectivity with multi-transport industrial IoT (IIoT) networking that delivers robust connectivity to many devices and applications including DI-enabled Riva ® smart meters, behind-the-meter DERs and distribution automation devices.
- Operations and Data Management, including solutions like Itron Enterprise EditionTM and Operations Optimizer® that deliver cost-effective automation of operations proven at scale. These foundational applications manage device and network connectivity operation and data delivery to prepare data for processing and delivery. Additionally, Itron’s DataHub will be featured, which provides a united, user-friendly platform for utilities and third parties to provide easy and secure data access, and to facilitate the sharing of metering data, billing information and grid edge data.
- Itron Optimizer Solutions, including Grid Edge Optimizer for providing analytics to support grid planning and operations, Distributed Energy Resource Optimizer, Itron’s unique grid aware DERMS solution, Electric Vehicle Optimizer that helps utilities to manage commercial fleets and DataHub to enable real-time visibility at the edge and increased consumer engagement with use cases previously impossible.
- Distributed Intelligence Applications, like Active Transformer Load Monitoring, Location Awareness, EV and Solar Awareness and Itron’s Safety Bundle are part of the Grid Edge Optimizer.
Attendees can also experience Itron’s Grid Edge Intelligence portfolio in action with the Itron Experience:
- Itron Experience – Attendees can “Choose Your Own Grid Adventure” and see how their decisions just might make or break the grid. Demos include EV Awareness, Grid Edge Management, Location Awareness, Active Transformer Load Monitoring and DER Optimizer.
To learn more and experience the demos, visit Itron in booth #2200 at DISTRIBUTECH International in Orlando, Florida, Feb. 27-29, 2024.
About Itron
Itron is a proven global leader in energy, water, smart city, IIoT and intelligent infrastructure services. For utilities, cities and society, we build innovative systems, create new efficiencies, connect communities, encourage conservation and increase resourcefulness. By safeguarding our invaluable natural resources today and tomorrow, we improve the quality of life for people around the world. Join us: www.itron.com.
Itron® is a registered trademark of Itron, Inc. All third-party trademarks are property of their respective owners and any usage herein does not suggest or imply any relationship between Itron and the third party unless expressly stated.
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