Itron has announced the sale of its MetrixIDR Retail forecasting software to E.ON Benelux Energy B.V.

E.ON Benelux provides utility service to customers in the Netherlands and Belgium and is part of the E.ON Group, the third-largest energy provider in Europe. E.ON Benelux’s power stations have a total capacity of 1850 MW.

After evaluating several possible forecasting tools, E.ON Benelux chose Itron’s energy forecasting software.

“Itron clearly understands energy forecasting, our market and our needs,” said Barrie van de Merbel, program manager at E.ON Benelux. “Itron’s MetrixIDR Retail allows us to forecast energy demand in the Dutch and Belgium grid for all energy-related activities including electricity, gas, heat and windmill forecasts.”

MetrixIDR generates sub-hourly, hourly or daily energy forecasts for lists of delivery points or portfolios of electric and gas retail customers. By combining historical load data with weather and calendar information, MetrixIDR provides forecasters the ability to create forecast models for a large number of customers, manage a changing customer base, and monitor forecast-accuracy over time. This can help utilities enhance operations, ensure revenue and reduce operational costs.

The choice to purchase the forecasting tool was based on E.ON Benelux’s goal of decreasing the level of energy imbalance from the current three-and-a-half percent, to two percent. The forecasting tools will allow E.ON Benelux to employ less staff for forecasting operations and leverage staff in other areas.