NW Natural Gas Total Automation to Reach 635,000 Meters Utilizing Itron Technology

and Salem

LIBERTY LAKE, Wash.–(EMWNews)–Itron Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI) announced today that it has signed an

agreement with NW Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) to automate an additional

375,000 natural gas meters in Portland, Ore., using Itron’s

mobile automated meter reading (AMR) technology. NW Natural began its

AMR program in 2006 and has already automated more than 260,000 meters

in its territory using Itron technology.

“The technology has proven itself,”

said Kay Steele, NW Natural Gas mobile AMR project manager. “We

are truly pleased with the success of the initial deployment and

consider the additional installation a natural progression.”

NW Natural considered a number of technologies before choosing an Itron

system. Cost reductions and operational efficiencies were the primary

drivers for automating its more rural territories first. NW Natural had

a joint meter reading arrangement with the electric utility in Portland

and delayed upgrading the area to mobile AMR until the arrangement was

completed.

“We met our business case objectives with Itron’s

mobile AMR technology and are excited about bringing the benefits to the

remainder of our customer base,” said Steele. “Itron

has been a great partner in this project and we look forward to

deploying their newest generation of higher powered gas module, the

100G, during the next phase.”

Part of the Itron ChoiceConnect™ suite of

data collection systems, the 100G Gas ERT^®

module provides a seamless pathway from mobile to fixed network AMR. In

the future this allows NW Natural to seek the benefits of more frequent

collection of metering data if desired.

“Itron’s

ChoiceConnect system provides NW Natural with flexibility for future

requirements while delivering solid benefits today,”

said Mike Zimmer, Itron vice president of western region sales. “NW

Natural’s decision to expand its mobile AMR

deployment is a validation that they chose the right technology and the

right deployment strategy. We value our ongoing relationship with NW

Natural and look forward to working with them on this phase of their

automation strategy.”

About Itron:

Itron Inc. is a leading technology provider to the global energy and

water industries. Itron Inc. consists of Itron in North America and

Actaris outside of North America. Our company is the world’s

leading provider of metering, data collection and utility software

solutions, with nearly 8,000 utilities worldwide relying on our

technology to optimize the delivery and use of energy and water. Our

products include electricity, gas and water meters, data collection and

communication systems, including automated meter reading (AMR) and

advanced metering infrastructure (AMI); meter data management and

related software applications; as well as project management,

installation, and consulting services. To know more, start here: www.itron.com.

About NW Natural:

NW Natural (NYSE:NWN) is headquartered in Portland, Ore., and serves

about 657,000 residential and business customers in Oregon and southwest

Washington. It is the largest independent natural gas utility in the

Pacific Northwest and is one of the fastest-growing local distribution

companies in the nation. NW Natural has approximately $2 billion in

total assets, which includes more than 16 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of

underground gas storage capacity within its service territory at Mist,

Ore. For more information about NW Natural, please visit: www.nwnatural.com

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