Itron, Inc. and Xcel Energy have entered an agreement to secure smart meters that will allow for collaboration to improve customer experience and utility operations using the distributed intelligence capabilities of Itron’s IoT solution. Xcel Energy provides electricity and natural gas service to millions of customers in Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado, Texas and New Mexico.
Xcel Energy plans to deploy distributed intelligence-enabled smart meters across its territory over the next five years to improve reliability, efficiency and security for its customers. Together, Itron and Xcel Energy will engage and empower the utility’s customers with a new generation of efficiency and services for years to come by utilizing innovative distributed intelligence applications running on meters. Xcel Energy also aims to improve customer control with the ability to optimize the effectiveness of load control, demand response and dynamic pricing programs.
Xcel Energy will take advantage of its existing standards-based, interoperable network from Itron along with Itron’s comprehensive distributed intelligence platform to manage edge applications from an open ecosystem of solution providers. Coupled with Itron’s ecosystem of partner applications and devices, the utility will manage changing grid conditions to better serve its customers.
In addition, Xcel Energy and Itron will deploy a distribution automation solution on the same platform to improve grid reliability and reduce operating costs by extending monitoring and control capabilities to a broad range of distribution devices on Xcel Energy’s electric system. The utility will gain greater visibility into the health and performance of its grid that will improve outage management and restoration responsiveness.
