City of Providence to Deploy Itron Technology; Mobile AMR System to Read 75,000 Water Meters.

SPOKANE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 10, 1999--

The goal of delivering consistently accurate billing and strong customer service today, while building a foundation for more advanced data collection in the future, has led the Providence Water Supply Board in Providence, R.I., to select Itron Automatic Meter Reading ("AMR") technology to automate all of its 75,000 water meters.

"Providence Water strives to provide services in the most efficient and cost-effective manner possible," said Richard O. Rafanovic, P.E., M.B.A., General Manager and Chief Engineer for the Providence Water Supply Board. "The deployment of Itron AMR technology is the latest step in Providence Water's continuing efforts to put our customers first."

According to Peter J. Pallozzi, Director of Commercial Services at Providence Water, the utility currently bills its customers quarterly. Mr. Pallozzi said that by deploying Itron AMR technology to collect more frequent and accurate meter reads from its indoor meters, the utility will be able to: provide better customer service; reduce estimated reads and customer complaints; improve cash flow; detect leaks sooner; improve the effectiveness of its tamper detection program; and eliminate the customer inconvenience and potential liabilities associated with on-site meter reading. The system will also provide Providence Water with an efficient solution for unscheduled beginning and end-of-service reads, as well as on-demand reads for system engineering purposes, he said.

"The Itron Mobile AMR solution is a cost-effective, proven technology that provides us with the tools to achieve these goals and to convert to monthly billing when the time is right," Mr. Pallozzi said.

"The City of Providence is an important customer for Itron and their selection of our technology demonstrates our increasing momentum in the water market," said Russ Vanos, Vice President for Utility and Energy Service Solutions at Itron. "Water utilities and municipalities represent huge market potential for Itron, and we have a broad set of products and solutions to serve this market."

Providence Water selected AMR Data Corporation, Itron's business associate located in Burlington, Mass., to supply it with the 75,000 Itron Encoder Receiver Transmitter (ERT) meter modules, one DataCommand Mobile unit and one portable DataPac unit, along with related hardware, software and implementation/training support for the AMR system.

"We selected AMR Data because of its proven AMR expertise and reputation for superior service," said Ricky Caruolo, Project Manager for Providence Water. Working with AMR Data, Providence Water will begin the software implementation and training in July. Field installation of the ERT modules will be completed by Providence Water crews over a three- to five-year period. Itron has received the initial order from AMR Data for the system, which includes approximately 25,000 ERTs along with the reading technology and software.

Mr. Caruolo added that Itron's migration strategy played a significant role in their selection of an AMR vendor. Providence Water eventually wants to migrate to fixed network data collection technology. Because the ERT modules installed for the Mobile AMR system can also be read by Itron's Fixed Network AMR data collection technology, Providence Water is able to achieve operational benefits immediately, while building a strategic foundation for low-cost migration to a fixed network in the future.

Itron Inc., a leading provider to the utility industry of solutions for collecting, communicating, and analyzing electric, gas and water usage data, serves over 1,500 customers in more than 45 countries around the world. Having shipped approximately 14 million AMR meter modules, Itron is the world's leading supplier of systems to the growing AMR market. The Company is headquartered in Spokane, Washington, and has engineering, design, and manufacturing facilities in several US locations and subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, France, and Australia.

This announcement contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. including those relating to the timing and completion of project installation, as the Company's contracts are generally subject to rescheduling and early termination by its customers. Further information on factors which could affect the Company's business and financial results is included in the Company's reports filed the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its latest Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1998 and Form 10-Q for the first quarter of 1999.

For more information, visit Itron's website at www.itron.com