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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Itron wins major contract

From staff reports

Itron Inc. announced Tuesday a new contract to supply software and services to the U.S. Navy.

The contract, which could bring Itron $2 million to $3 million in revenue the first year, is the Spokane Valley company’s largest ever with the U.S. Department of Defense and one of its largest government contracts, said Mima Scarpelli, vice president of investor relations.

Itron provides hardware and software to help utilities manage delivery and use of energy and water.

The Navy consumes $1.2 billion in energy every year at its facilities worldwide, Scarpelli said. Like other federal facilities, however, the Navy faces new requirements for energy efficiency, including a target 20 percent reduction in energy consumption by 2015.

Itron will provide software and consulting services to help the Navy figure out how its various facilities use energy — “who’s using what, when,” Scarpelli said. “We’re just trying to give them better diagnostics.”

After that, the contract could evolve into Itron providing the Navy with hardware to manage its energy use, she said.

Itron can’t estimate how large the Navy contract could become, Scarpelli said. But beyond the revenue it brings, it also could open other doors for Itron within the Department of Defense to do the same type of diagnostic and consulting work, she said.

As part of the contract announced Tuesday, the Navy is buying a $1 million-a-year subscription to use Itron’s software, with the intention of renewing that subscription each year for five years, Scarpelli said. The additional revenue in the first year will come from professional services provided to the Navy by Itron, she said.

Itron provides similar diagnostic and consulting services to other large “end users” of energy, such as Nike and Clemson University, she said.