2019 Annual Energy Forecasting Meeting
Two pre-conference classes. Three conference days. Eighteen industry presentations. Forty-nine companies. Sixty-nine attendees. These are…
Five Ways to Be More Resourceful This Earth Day
At Itron, we’re all about resourcefulness. Our technology connects people, devices and insights to better manage energy and water resources, all…
DistribuTECH 2019: The Full Itron Experience
Participating in the Itron Experience strengthened my understanding of Itron’s vision for smart cities—and provided an important visualization of…
Innovation in the Age of ‘Smart’ Tech
Recently, I had the honor of speaking at the National Governors Association (NGA) winter meeting. For those who are unfamiliar with the NGA, it is a…
Developing Net Load Uncertainty Forecasts to Support System Operations
Today, the deep penetration of renewable generation resources system operators are requiring new tools to place reasonable confidence bands around…
Empowering the Next Generation
I became a Girl Scout when I was 9 years old, and I was an active volunteer when my two daughters were Girl Scouts. In 2011, I was fortunate to join…
It’s All the Same, Only the Names Will Change
Last year, Itron was contracted by a small utility (about 11,000 customers) to construct a 10-year-ahead load forecast for capacity planning. I was…
Smarter States, Smarter Communities
Itron President and CEO Philip Mezey recently spoke to the importance of creating smarter communities at two national conferences: the National…
Bringing Innovation to Life: Caltech’s FLOW Rocket Fund
Itron is proud to be a corporate sponsor of the FLOW Rocket Fund at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), which is now accepting…
Capped vs. Uncapped Degree Days
In energy modeling, we often utilize spline variables to capture the non-linear relationship between consumption and temperature. These variables…
DistribuTECH Insights: Blockchain in Energy and Intelligent Streetlights
The last day of DistribuTECH 2019 last week prompted an engaging discussion about the impact of IoT and blockchain on current and future energy…
Itron Idea Labs at the Cleantech Open Global Forum
I recently represented Itron Idea Labs at the Cleantech Open Global Forum held in Los Angeles at LACI, the Itron-sponsored Los Angeles Cleantech…
Leveraging a Waterfall Approach to Explain the Load Forecast
Our first brown bag seminar of the year is entitled “Leveraging a Waterfall Approach to Explain the Load Forecast”. This session introduces a…
The Importance of Grid Reliability
While we enjoyed balmy weather at DistribuTECH 2019 in New Orleans this week, the recent polar vortex much of the country experienced last week…
Itron and Cisco: Connecting the Dots in Utility & City IIoT Strategies
Itron and Cisco have a long history of working together to revolutionize the utility industry and sharing a vision of what we can achieve together.…
Shaping the Future of Energy: DistribuTECH Day 1 Recap
The Itron team kicked off DistribuTECH yesterday with a compelling welcoming address from Itron President and CEO Philip Mezey on shaping the future…
A Lot of Buzz Around Revenue Assurance at DistribuTECH 2019
Non-technical losses are a major concern for all utilities, and it never ceases to amaze me what some people will do to try to cheat a utility out…
The Itron Experience at DistribuTECH: The Journey Continues
Itron was created by utility executives and engineers who, back in the 1970s, were looking for a better way to collect meter data—one with improved…
Itron at DistribuTECH 2019
Itron will be showcasing its industry leading technology and smart city solutions next week as the premier sponsor of DistribuTECH 2019, the utility…
The Recipe for Smart Cities: How Utilities are Paving the Way for Resourceful Communities
The digital transformation of the utility industry is proceeding apace, with many utilities extending beyond their traditional offerings and…
Itron Named Among World’s Most Sustainable Corporations
Corporate Knights, which includes the business and society magazine Corporate Knights and a research division that produces rankings based on…
Itron and Utilidata to Demo Grid-Edge Meter Application at DistribuTECH 2019
Itron and Utilidata will showcase the power of grid-edge meter applications at DistribuTECH, the utility industry’s leading transmission and…
2019 Forecasting Conferences – Register Today!
The 17th annual Energy Forecasting/EFG Meeting and Training will be hosted in Boston, Massachusetts on April 3-5 with optional one-day training…
Itron Recognized as a Leader for the Sixth Time in 2018 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Meter Data Management Products
Itron is excited to announce we have been named a Leader in Gartner Inc.’s Magic Quadrant for Meter Data Management Products [1] for the sixth…
Itron and Blockchain at CES 2019
Itron was among a number of companies highlighting blockchain technology and applications at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2019. A…
Drones, Robots and More – Oh My
My first visit to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) left my head spinning – figuratively and literally. To begin with, I was intrigued by the mass…
Sensory Overload: CES 2019
As my first CES event, sensory overload might be a good way to describe my initial visit to the showroom floor. I suppose because I've spent my…
Stranger Things at CES 2019
It is never boring at CES, from a technologies and products point of view. This year, I thought I would pay attention to strange things rather than…
A Consumer’s Perspective – Residential Solar with an Electric Vehicle
Recently, I wrote a blog on residential solar. In it, I mentioned that I needed at least a 6 kW system, but I installed a 7.25 kW system with 25…
A Brighter Future for a Nepali Village
In November, representatives and volunteers from Itron had the great opportunity to travel to Nepal to help with the Mohari Project, a project…
Our Year in Review
At Itron, we are dedicated to creating resourceful communities across the globe with our technology, growing portfolio and community outreach. This…
When Does Humidity Make the Meter Spin?
For anyone that has tried to improve a model by changing the specification, you know it is very much a trial and error process. You create variables…
Bring Your Smart City Solution to Life with Itron
Itron has invited IoT developers to submit their solutions to the inaugural Itron Smart City Challenge. The Smart City Challenge will bring together…
Itron Named a Visionary in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Managed M2M Services, Worldwide
Itron recently announced that it has been named a Visionary in Gartner Inc.’s Magic Quadrant for Managed M2M Services, Worldwide for the third time.…
A Practitioner’s Guide to Short-term Load Forecast Modeling
Over the years, numerous clients have requested a “recipe book” for building powerful short-term load forecast models. This guide to Short-term Load…
Itron Idea Labs Attends LA CoMotion Leadership Conference
As an entrepreneur-in-residence for Itron Idea Labs, I was excited to be able to represent our organization at the recent LA CoMotion Leadership…
Short-term Load Forecasting: A Practitioner’s Handbook
Our final brown bag seminar of the year—hosted on Tuesday, Dec. 4—is entitled “Short-term Load Forecasting: A Practitioner’s Handbook.” Ever wonder…
Itron-supported Legislation Signed by the President
This summer, Itron saw movement in Congress on some long-standing issues that we have been working on for several years, including the Disaster…
Aggregation Bias Strikes Again!
The issue of aggregation bias should not be a new concept to any of us in the energy forecasting world. In April, my colleague David Simons posted…
Itron Wins Golden Peacock Global Award for Sustainability
Itron continues to create a more resourceful world. We have recently been recognized as the winner of the Golden Peacock Global Award for…
What I Learned About Smart Cities at Itron Utility Week 2018
I had the opportunity to attend Itron Utility Week this year on behalf of Iguá Saneamento, a water provider in Brazil. This large event is focused on…
Odds and Sods
Probabilities and odds express the same information in different ways. In science and economics, people tend to think in terms of probabilities,…
Engaging Students with Conservation Station
Itron and Discovery Education’s joint educational outreach program, Conservation Station: Creating a More Resourceful World, launched last week. This…
Wi-SUN: The Chosen Technology Connecting the World’s Smartest Cities
Cities worldwide are ramping up deployment of smart technologies that accelerate progress towards sustainability goals, while empowering them with a…
What are Weather Groups?
If you’re a user of Itron’s Automated Demand Forecasting System, MetrixIDR, then chances are you’ve probably seen the words “Weather Groups” at some…
Enabling Smarter, More Scalable Cities, Sooner – Part II
One of the most engaging discussions at Itron Utility Week (IUW) was the Big Picture Session, which explored new business models to fund and activate…
Enabling Smarter, More Scalable Cities, Sooner – Part I
One of the most engaging discussions at Itron Utility Week (IUW) was the Big Picture Session, which explored new business models to fund and activate…
IUW18 Day II: Turning Expert Insights into an Actionable Approach
Nearly 1,200 attendees reconvened this morning ready to absorb all that they could during the last day of our Knowledge Conference at one of our…
IUW18 Packs a Serious and Sustainable Punch: Day I Recap
Itron Utility Week (IUW) kicked off in high-gear yesterday, and the General Session presenters set the pace with a compelling kickoff! We had a…
Frost & Sullivan Lauds Pepco Holdings and City of Bismarck with Excellence in Resourcefulness Awards at Itron Utility Week
Frost & Sullivan announced today Pepco Holdings and the City of Bismarck, North Dakota's water utility as the recipients of this year's…
“Future Proof” with Itron on SAP HANA
One year ago, SAP prepared for Itron Utility Week (IUW) with a clear plan, purpose and a vision of success. SAP and Itron outlined an ambitious plan…
Residential Solar From a Consumer’s Perspective
I live in Southern California with a kid who runs the air conditioning like electricity is free and pretends that he lives in a frozen tundra. This…
Prep List: Time to Get Ready for a Great IUW 2018
Itron Utility Week (IUW) 2018 kicks off at the end of this week—and we’ve got all the details to help ensure your trip is a success. As you’re…
What to Do and See in Scottsdale
Next week, 1,000 industry leaders, technology visionaries and peers will come together in Scottsdale, Arizona for Itron Utility Week (IUW). If you’re…
Supporting the Outcomes of Today and Tomorrow
Itron Utility Week (IUW) 2018 is almost here! Next week, 1,000 customers from a range of industries will come together in Scottsdale, Arizona to…
Itron Idea Labs Attends First-Ever California Climate Cup, Supports Clean Energy
Itron Idea Labs continued its partnership with the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) this week with two exciting events! On Monday, Sept. 10,…
Analytics and Advanced Applications are Transforming the Smart Grid and Networks
Earlier this week, we talked about the upcoming Itron Utility Week (IUW) and two of our exciting conference tracks focusing on data management and…
IUW 2018: Connect. Innovate. Transform.
Itron Utility Week (IUW) kicks off at the end of this month with three simple words—connect, innovate, transform. A simple message that translates…
Itron Has Been Busy this Summer Helping Utilities Keep the Lights On
This summer has been particularly steamy in certain parts of the country, unfortunately resulting in periodic blackouts as utilities struggle to get…
Sentient Energy Leverages Itron Developer Program to Expand Product Capabilities and Commercial Opportunities
Sentient Energy and Itron began their strong, mutual supportive relationship over 10 years ago when Sentient Energy first came to market. Sentient…
Brown Bag Session: The Latest Energy Trends
Join us on Tuesday, Sept. 11 for our third Brown Bag seminar of the year as we reveal the results of our annual bench-marking survey. We are excited…
Focusing on the Future of Smart Cities at ITS World Congress
As Itron continues to influence and make an impact on the future of smart cities, we are excited to be an exhibitor at the upcoming Intelligent…
Market Trends That Will Drive the Next Evolution of Operational Load Forecasting Models
Grid operators schedule and dispatch generation resources to meet demand in as cost-effective manner as possible. In a perfect world, the least…
Itron Customers Top Smart City Governments List
Itron delivers solutions that help cities become more efficient and sustainable. Recently, Eden Strategy Institute, a strategy consulting firm, put…
Will the Solar Panel Tariff Kill Solar Adoption?
The recent U.S. administration’s 30 percent tariff on imported solar cells and modules has not been well received by the solar industry. Effective…
US3 and Itron Win American Public Works Association Project of the Year
Congratulations to our partner, Utility Systems Science & Software (US3), who recently won the Texas Public Works Association Project of the Year…
A Simple Approach for Addressing Behind-the-Meter Solar Generation
I was recently asked to account for behind-the-meter (BTM) solar generation in a set of day-ahead hourly electric models. Fundamentally, the problem…
Bringing Safety to the Edge
Safety is always top of mind for gas utilities, and new technology advancements, like the OpenWay® Riva Intelis gas meter, make it possible to reduce…
America’s Finest 2018 ISO Forecasting Summit
San Diego’s slogan is “America’s Finest City” and being fortunate enough to call this place my home for the past seven years, I see why. It has a…
Accepting Nominations: 2018 Excellence in Resourcefulness Best Practice Awards
Itron partner Frost and Sullivan is now accepting nominations for the 2018 Excellence in Resourcefulness Best Practices Awards. As a growth…
New Intelis Water Meter Debuts at ACE18
Itron recently attended American Water Works Association’s (AWWA) 137th Annual Conference and Exhibition (ACE), and for the first time, showcased our…
IoT World Continued: Partner Engagement Demonstrated During IoT Live! Tour
In last week’s blog post, we highlighted what we said on stage during IoT World. This week, we’re going to discuss how our partners helped us…
Load Forecasting Using Machine Learning: Does the Hype Meet Reality?
It is easy to stub your toe on the voluminous literature available on machine learning when the question of how to improve your operational forecast…
EEI Convention: Looking Toward the Future
I recently had the pleasure of attending the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) Annual Convention in San Diego. This annual event brings together energy…
IoT World 2018: Itron Leaders Share IoT Insights During Industry Event
The IoT industry is evolving quickly, and it isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. GSMA Intelligence projects that the IoT market will be worth…
Itron Showcases Proven Networks at UTC Telecom & Technology 2018
Electric, gas and water have long been considered essential services provided by utilities and cities around the world. But now, as utilities are…
Power Over Energy: Educating Consumers Through Social Media
At Itron, we strive to help create a more resourceful world—and that mission goes beyond partnering with utilities and cities. Through our Power Over…
Partnering for Smarter Cities
I recently had the pleasure of attending the second annual Smart Cities Week Silicon Valley, organized by the Smart Cities Council. During this…
Transforming in the IoT Space
The advent of the Internet of Things (IoT) age has changed the way many industries—including Itron—engage with customers. In this new era, it’s all…
Joining the Conversation Around Clean Energy
As part of our efforts to stay abreast of innovations in the cleantech space, Itron Idea Labs is now a corporate sponsor of the Los Angeles Clean…
2018 EFG Meeting Summary
Sometimes when I sit back and consider all the things that need to be done, I feel overwhelmed. The endless demands for regular work—like producing…
Analytics and Customer Portals Shine at CS Week 2018
At CS Week 2018 in Tampa, Florida, Itron hit the show floor and showcased our expanded portfolio, bringing to the forefront the best of our smart…
Upcoming Seminar: Budget Forecasting – A Practitioner’s Handbook
Our second brown bag seminar of the year is entitled “Budget Forecasting – A Practitioner’s Handbook.” This Brown Bag distills twenty-plus years of…
National Hurricane Preparedness Week: How Smart Technology is Helping Cities Prepare for an Active Season
Following a record-breaking 2017 hurricane season – which cost the U.S. more than $200 billion in damage, eclipsing the previous record of $159…
Don’t Miss Itron and #IoTLive at #IoTWorld
Itron is excited to yet again be participating and exhibiting at this year’s IoT World at the Santa Clara Convention Center on May 14-17. This event…
CS Week: Transforming the Customer Experience
In 2017, Itron acquired not one, but two companies. First Comverge—a leading distributed energy management company—and then Silver Spring Networks—a…
The Pitfalls and Pain of Aggregation Bias
As forecasters, averaging is something that we do a lot. We like averaging because it helps us filter out much of the noise in our data so that we…
How Will You Practice Resourcefulness on April 22?
Here at Itron, we have a saying—the way we manage energy and water will define this century. Through our technology and innovation, we are working to…
Five Grid Management Capabilities You Should Demand That Only RF Mesh Delivers
Modernization efforts are ramping up for leading European utilities with the rapid proliferation of smart devices extending throughout the…
Itron’s Integrated Energy Forecasting Framework
In today’s marketplace, incorporating the multitude of Distributed Energy Resources (DER) can make producing an accurate energy demand forecast very…
To BYOT or Not to BYOT: That is the Question
Itron is a long-time member of the Peak Load Management Alliance (PLMA), which was founded in 1999 as the voice of demand response practitioners. I…
Daylight Saving Time: The Bane of the Load Forecaster
Sunrise and sunset times vary from summer to winter because of earth’s tilt with respect to its orbit around the sun. This difference is magnified at…
eBook: How Utilities are Planning for Distributed Energy Resources
With the rapid integration of renewables and distributed technologies into the grid, utilities can no longer feasibly address the challenges of…
Take Our Annual Energy Survey
Itron’s forecasting group recently launched its annual energy survey. As we have done in previous years, Itron uses this survey to collect…
Ignore Missing Option
The Sum function in MetrixND seems like a complex way to make adding difficult. In a MetrixND transformation, numbers are added by joining variables…
Fulfilling the Vision of the Multiple Application Network
In the past year, many people have asked me about smart cities, and how useful they are for the citizens living in the city. A study that we…
Using Neural Networks to Build Robust Hourly Models
Our first brown bag seminar of the year is entitled, “Using Neural Networks to Build Robust Hourly Models.” Neural networks are flexible functional…
Adventures in Cryptocurrency
Last October, a conversation began in the Itron Idea Labs community around blockchain and what Itron might do with it in the energy space. Ideas were…
Dividing Two Interval Series in MetrixLT
In my previous post, I showed that MetrixLT can multiply two hourly data series even though the software was not designed for that specific purpose.…
Multiplying Two Interval Series in MetrixLT
“Help” was the desperate cry of a MetrixLT user after the close of the workday. “I need to multiply two hourly interval data series in MetrixLT!”…