Itron Inc. announced a new contract to provide Constellation NewEnergy (CNE) with Itron Customer Care 5.0 software to help CNE’s commercial and industrial customers manage energy usage and costs more effectively. CNE serves more than 10,000 commercial and industrial customers throughout 31 states and three Canadian provinces. It is a supplier of electricity, natural gas and energy services throughout North America and operates in all deregulated retail markets where industrial customers can choose their energy providers.

“In a climate of rising fuel and power prices, it is critical that businesses have a detailed and sophisticated view of how they purchase and consume energy, and to meet that need we’ve rolled out Constellation NewEnergy Online,” said Clem Palevich, president of Constellation NewEnergy. “This valuable new tool, supported by Itron’s Customer Care data repository, enables our customers to better understand their energy usage and costs so they can operate more efficiently and plan future budgets.”

Built on Itron’s Enterprise Edition (IEE) platform, Itron Customer Care software offers energy providers a robust tool for delivering a higher level of service and value to their large commercial and industrial accounts by putting metering-based data to work for the customer.

For instance, the software generates “what-if” cost analysis reports so energy and facility managers using Constellation NewEnergy Online can compare various rate and demand scenarios. Proactive alerts plus automated delivery of configured reports keep CNE’s customers informed about detailed energy consumption at multiple facilities.

Philip Mezey, senior vice president for Itron software solutions, said Itron Customer Care provides energy providers with the means to leverage the value of metering-based data they already collect, and create new value for this critical customer segment. This is especially important in the competitive retail environment in which Constellation NewEnergy operates.