Turnkey Solution Delivers SAIDI Improvement Through Enhanced Visibility, Fault Detection and Restoration Capabilities
- GEI Catalyst and turnkey solution is designed to improve reliability, enhance grid visibility and operational performance.
- Solution helps utilities achieve measurable reliability outcomes, improve SAIDI performance, maximize existing infrastructure investments and reduce deployment complexity.
- Built on Itron's Grid Edge Intelligence platform, the solution connects grid-edge, operational and enterprise data to support future AI-enabled utility operations and future grid modernization.
LIBERTY LAKE, Wash., Oct. 08, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI), the intelligent infrastructure provider for modern energy and water management, has unveiled the next era of its Grid Edge Intelligence (GEI) portfolio with Itron’s GEI Catalyst: Feeder Reliability solution.
Utilities are under pressure to improve reliability, modernize aging infrastructure, integrate distributed energy resources and prepare for AI-driven operations while keeping customer costs affordable. GEI Catalyst: Feeder Reliability provides utilities with a targeted, lower-risk way to address those priorities by providing a practical path to deliver measurable reliability improvements without costly grid upgrades or lengthy projects to integrate multiple utility systems, data sources and technologies.
The solution builds on utilities' existing AMI, operational technology and grid-edge investments, helping them improve reliability without replacing the infrastructure they already have in place.
Itron conducted reliability assessments of the GEI Catalyst: Feeder Reliability solution with information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) teams at three North American utilities. The assessments indicated that improving fault location accuracy, fault prevention and outage restoration can reduce the time required to identify, patrol and restore fault-related issue, resulting in reliability improvements ranging from 6 to 12 minutes of SAIDI about 10%. Based on industry-accepted economic impact models, these improvements can translate into an estimated $40 million to $90 million in annual business value for a representative utility serving approximately 1 million customers.
The solution also helps utilities improve distribution-system visibility, focus field resources where they are needed most and maximize the value of existing infrastructure investments. These results have been validated through recent customer projects with multiple North American utilities. These engagements demonstrated how utilities can use existing AMI and grid-edge investments to improve fault location accuracy, accelerate restoration efforts and enhance distribution-system visibility without requiring major infrastructure replacement projects.
The solution works alongside existing utility systems, including SCADA, Outage Management Systems and Advanced Distribution Management Systems, providing greater visibility into grid conditions and helping operators make faster, more informed decisions. By turning smart meters and grid-edge devices into sources of operational insight across the distribution system, utilities gain near real-time visibility into abnormal conditions, probable fault locations and restoration priorities. This enables utilities to move from reactive operations to more proactive, evidence-based decision-making, accelerating response and reducing the need to manually correlate information across multiple systems.
Rather than requiring utilities to build and integrate a custom solution, the GEI Catalyst: Feeder Reliability solution provides a proven framework that helps utilities achieve measurable reliability improvements quickly and scale over time.
“Affordability has become one of the most urgent challenges in grid modernization,” said Don Reeves, senior vice president of Outcomes at Itron. “Utilities need practical ways to improve reliability, make better investment decisions and prepare for AI-enabled operations without adding unnecessary complexity or cost. Itron’s end-to-end Grid Edge Intelligence gives utilities a repeatable path to turn existing AMI, grid-edge data, operational systems and enterprise data platforms into a unified decision engine for the distribution grid.”
“By focusing first on feeder-level visibility and reliability, Itron is demonstrating how the broader architecture can deliver business value quickly while supporting longer-term grid modernization. The architecture helps utilities move from data collection to operational decisions, improving fault location accuracy, fault prevention and outage restoration while giving operators, planners and enterprise teams a shared foundation for action,” added Reeves.
Key solution benefits include:
- Prevent Faults: Detect early warning signs of potential equipment issues before they lead to outages.
- Locate Issues Faster: Improve fault location accuracy to reduce patrol time and accelerate restoration efforts.
- Reduce Wildfire and Public Safety Risk: Detect ignition-risk events and energized-down conductors earlier to support safer grid operations.
- Improve Asset Management: Support condition-based maintenance and capital prioritization and planning using operational data.
Delivered as an integrated offering, GEI Catalyst: Feeder Reliability combines the sensing, communications, analytics, hosted infrastructure and implementation services required to instrument selected feeders and turn grid-edge signals into operational action. As the first offering in Itron's new GEI Catalyst family, the solution is designed to accelerate time-to-value by combining proven Grid Edge Intelligence technologies, services and expertise around a specific customer outcome: feeder reliability. It provides utilities with a practical adoption path that delivers measurable results quickly while supporting broader grid modernization initiatives over time.
GEI Catalyst: Feeder Reliability is built on Itron’s GEI platform and combines Itron’s proven solutions:
- Distributed intelligence (DI)-enabled Itron Riva meters and DI applications
- Intelligent connectivity through Itron's Gen 5 and Gen 6 network platforms, with cellular and mesh communications options
- Intelligent Edge Operating System, which is a software platform that runs DI applications at the grid edge
- Advanced Grid Reliability: Grid monitoring and analytics software, which helps utilities detect, locate and respond to grid faults more efficiently, as well as prevent potential faults
- Itron delivery, implementation, technical and business consulting services
Open Integration for Faster Time to Value
As the first turnkey solution built on Itron's Grid Edge Intelligence platform, GEI Catalyst: Feeder Reliability brings together the technologies, analytics and services needed to improve reliability through a single, integrated offering.
Itron’s approach is designed for open integration across utility OT and IT environments. Rather than requiring utilities to replace existing systems, the solution connects Grid Edge Intelligence to existing Itron and non-Itron operational platforms, enterprise data environments and AI tools utilities already use, helping reduce integration burden and accelerate time to value.
The solution is designed to deliver value from day one, helping utilities target their most pressing reliability challenges and achieve measurable results quickly. Using a proven deployment approach, utilities can validate business value, improve reliability outcomes and scale adoption over time based on their operational priorities and budget requirements.
Availability
Itron’s GEI Catalyst: Feeder Reliability solution is available globally, with an initial emphasis on North American utilities. To learn more, visit the Grid Edge Intelligence solution page.
About Itron
Itron is transforming how the world manages energy, water and city services. Our trusted intelligent infrastructure solutions help utilities and cities improve efficiency, build resilience and deliver safe, reliable and affordable service. With edge intelligence, we connect people, data insights and devices so communities can better manage the essential resources they rely on to live and thrive. Join us as we create a more resourceful world: www.itron.com.
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For additional information, contact:
Itron, Inc.
Alison Mallahan
Senior Manager, Corporate Communications
509-891-3802
[email protected]
Paul Vincent
Vice President, Investor Relations
512-560-1172
[email protected]
Itron, Inc.
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