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Itron Provides the University of Maryland With Enterprise Energy Management Software

Posted on: Thursday, 28 July 2005, 09:00 CDT

Itron Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) announced today a contract with the University of Maryland (UMD), located in College Park, Md. to provide the university with Itron's Enterprise Energy Management (EEM) software solutions to help reduce energy costs and improve conservation on campus.

The UMD spent $46 million for utility services last year, according to Ken Riebert, UMD's director for the office of facilities administration. With Itron's EEM Suite(TM) of energy management software, UMD facility managers are looking to put a dent in that figure. Itron's EEM Suite software will provide UMD with detailed visibility into energy consumption for buildings and facilities throughout the campus, along with easy-to-use software tools for improvements in billing accuracy, facility management and energy procurement.

"Energy is a huge portion of our budget and up to this point we viewed energy as a fixed cost that we had little control over," said Riebert. "By putting the right software tools in place and taking a pro-active approach to energy management, we can spend less money on our energy bill and focus our resources on educating our students."

The University of Maryland joins a growing number of universities throughout North America that have implemented Itron's EEM Suite of software tools to control costs and improve energy management across campus. Those universities include the University of California at Santa Barbara, California State University at Long Beach, Clemson University, Stanford University, City University of New York, San Diego State University, and University of California at Irvine.

About 45 percent of the buildings on the Maryland campus are auxiliary, and must be self-funded, such as the athletic department and dormitories, Riebert said. With Itron's easy-to-use EEM software, staff can drill-down into specific site-related energy information and bill for usage, allowing the university to capture lost revenue and provide more accurate billing and energy accountability.

"With the current system we have in place, our ability to save additional energy is nearly exhausted," Riebert said. "And we cannot continue to raise tuition to cover these costs. Itron's EEM software will help us to recover that lost revenue and discover where, on campus, we can be more efficient."

"As the cost of energy continues to rise, Itron's EEM Suite is helping universities across the country control costs, increase accountability and conserve vital energy resources," said Philip Mezey, senior vice president of software solutions at Itron. "The University of Maryland has joined the growing number of innovative universities that are taking charge of their energy consumption and costs by implementing leading-edge energy management technology."

About Itron:

Itron is a leading technology provider and critical source of knowledge to the global energy and water industries. Nearly 3,000 utilities worldwide rely on Itron's award-winning technology to provide the knowledge they require to optimize the delivery and use of energy and water. Itron creates value for its clients by providing industry-leading solutions for electricity metering; meter data collection; energy information management; demand response; load forecasting, analysis and consulting services; distribution system design and optimization; web-based workforce automation; and enterprise and residential energy management. To know more, start here: www.itron.com.

About the University of Maryland

The University of Maryland, in College Park, is a major public research university located on 1,250 acres of rolling land along the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. high-technology corridor. More than 35,000 students attend classes at the University of Maryland, the flagship of the university system in Maryland. For additional information: www.umd.edu.

Source: Business Wire

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