Itron and Toumetis Team Up with Southern California Utility to Reduce Wildfire Risk and Improve Reliability by Preventing Outages and Shortening Restoration Time

Rhea-AI Summary

Itron (NYSE: ITRI) and Toumetis launched a Southern California pilot with San Diego Gas & Electric under the EPIC program to reduce wildfire risk and improve electric reliability by preventing outages and shortening restoration time.

The project links high-resolution meter and grid sensor data with Toumetis’ Cascadence™ AI/ML to detect precursor conditions, prioritize events and accelerate fault location, triage and restoration metrics for possible expansion across additional circuits.

News Market Reaction

+0.66%

1 alert

+0.66% News Effect

On the day this news was published, ITRI gained 0.66%, reflecting a mild positive market reaction.

Data tracked by StockTitan Argus on the day of publication.

Key Figures

Circuits covered: more than 800 electric distribution circuits

1 metrics

Circuits covered more than 800 electric distribution circuits Toumetis Cascadence deployment in Southern California

Market Reality Check

Price: $105.57 Vol: Volume 486,135 is slightl...

normal vol

$105.57 Last Close

Volume Volume 486,135 is slightly below the 20-day average of 527,365 ahead of this announcement. normal

Technical Shares trade below the 200-day MA, with price at 100.45 versus MA(200) at 115.49.

Peers on Argus

ITRI gained 1.38% with multiple peers also positive today: BMI +4.7%, ESE +2.74%...

ITRI gained 1.38% with multiple peers also positive today: BMI +4.7%, ESE +2.74%, ST +3.16%, VNT +1.23%, MKSI +0.8%, suggesting a supportive sector backdrop for this grid-focused news.

Common Catalyst Broader strength in scientific and technical instruments, with some peers engaged in investor outreach and conferences.

Historical Context

5 past events · Latest: Jan 29 (Positive)

Pattern 5 events

Date	Event	Sentiment	Move	Catalyst
Jan 29	Product showcase	Positive	+1.0%	Showcased Grid Edge Intelligence and new Resiliency Solutions segment at DTECH 2026.
Jan 28	AI partnership	Positive	+0.2%	Expanded AI collaboration with Microsoft via IEOS Connector for Microsoft 365 Copilot.
Jan 27	AI partnership	Positive	+0.6%	Announced AI-powered Grid Planning solution with Snowflake for system-wide modeling.
Jan 08	Earnings timing	Neutral	+0.9%	Set date and times for Q4 and full-year 2025 earnings release and call.
Jan 06	Water partnership	Positive	+0.9%	Five-year smart water deployment with EYATH S.A. to modernize Thessaloniki operations.

Pattern Detected

Recent Itron announcements, including partnerships and product showcases, have been followed by modestly positive next-day moves on each of the last five news events.

Recent Company History

Over the past month, Itron has highlighted a steady stream of grid-intelligence and partnership news. Releases on Jan 27-29, 2026 showcased AI collaborations with Snowflake and Microsoft and its Grid Edge Intelligence portfolio at DTECH 2026. Earlier, a Jan 6 water-operations project in Greece and a Jan 8 earnings-date notice also saw small positive price reactions. Today’s wildfire-mitigation collaboration fits this pattern of operational and AI-driven utility solutions.

Market Pulse Summary

This announcement details a project with San Diego Gas & Electric and Toumetis that applies high-res...

Analysis

This announcement details a project with San Diego Gas & Electric and Toumetis that applies high-resolution grid data, physics-based algorithms, and AI/ML to reduce SAIFI and SAIDI, particularly in high fire threat areas. It builds on Itron’s broader grid-edge and analytics push seen in recent AI partnerships. Key aspects to watch include expansion beyond the initial 800+ circuits and quantified improvements in fault-location and restoration metrics.

Key Terms

saifi, saidi, predictive analytics, machine learning, +1 more

5 terms

saifi technical

"help reduce SAIFI (System Average Interruption Frequency Index) and SAIDI"

SAIFI (System Average Interruption Frequency Index) measures how often the average electricity customer experiences an outage over a set period, calculated by dividing total customer interruptions by total customers served. For investors, SAIFI is a simple gauge of a utility’s reliability and operational performance—like a retailer’s average number of lost deliveries—and can affect customer satisfaction, regulatory reviews, maintenance costs and future revenue stability.

saidi technical

"help reduce SAIFI (System Average Interruption Frequency Index) and SAIDI"

SAIDI (System Average Interruption Duration Index) measures the average total time that a power customer is without electricity over a given period, usually expressed in minutes or hours per customer. Investors use it like a reliability scorecard for utility companies — higher values mean more frequent or longer outages, which can signal operational problems, higher maintenance costs, regulatory scrutiny or customer dissatisfaction, all of which can affect revenue and valuation.

predictive analytics technical

"deploying advanced, real-time analytics that help reduce SAIFI ... through two complementary levers"

Predictive analytics uses historical data and patterns to estimate future outcomes, like sales, customer behavior, or operational problems. For investors it matters because it turns past signals into probable forecasts—similar to a weather forecast or traffic app—helping assess potential risks, spot opportunities, and prioritize where to allocate capital, while remembering that predictions carry uncertainty and are not guarantees.

machine learning technical

"Toumetis’ Cascadence™ predictive analytics and machine learning platform—currently deployed"

Machine learning is a set of computer programs that learn patterns from large amounts of data and improve their predictions or decisions over time, like a recipe that gets better each time it’s adjusted based on taste tests. For investors it matters because these systems can speed up analysis, spot trends or risks humans might miss, automate routine work, and potentially create competitive advantages or cost savings that affect a company’s performance.

ai/ml technical

"physics-based location algorithm coupled with expert knowledge and informed AI/ML models"

AI/ML stands for artificial intelligence and machine learning, software systems that identify patterns in data and make predictions or automate decisions, improving performance as they process more information. Investors care because these technologies can boost revenue, cut costs and create competitive advantages — like a factory that learns to produce goods faster and with fewer mistakes — while also introducing execution, ethical and regulatory risks that can affect a company’s value.

AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.

Collaboration Advances Wildfire Mitigation with Predictive Analytics, Faster Fault Location and Acce

LIBERTY LAKE, Wash. and BOISE, Idaho, Feb. 03, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Itron and Toumetis today announced a project in Southern California to strengthen wildfire mitigation and improve electric reliability by deploying advanced, real-time analytics that help reduce SAIFI (System Average Interruption Frequency Index) and SAIDI (System Average Interruption Duration Index) through two complementary levers: preventing outages before they occur and shortening outage duration when they do occur. The project is being performed in collaboration with San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) under the EPIC program.

The project combines Itron’s high-resolution data from its distributed intelligence-enabled endpoints with Toumetis’ Cascadence™ predictive analytics and machine learning platform—currently deployed across more than 800 electric distribution circuits in Southern California—to integrate multiple data sources into a single operational view. The system brings together detailed data from smart meters, substation power quality measurements, relay signals and other grid sensors.

By unifying these signals and applying a physics-based location algorithm coupled with expert knowledge and informed AI/ML models, the joint effort is designed to detect emerging risk conditions earlier, prioritize the highest-impact events and accelerate field response—particularly in high fire threat areas.

A core objective of the initiative is to reduce SAIFI and SAIDI by (1) preventing outages through early identification of precursor conditions and targeted intervention, and (2) reducing outage minutes by accelerating fault location, triage and restoration.

“Reducing SAIDI requires both prevention and faster restoration. Cascadence is built to unify disparate grid data, detect subtle precursors to failure and deliver actionable intelligence in minutes. This enables targeted field action to help prevent customer-impacting outages and provides precise location and context to shorten restoration time when outages occur.”

— Mark Willnerd, Chief Executive Officer, Toumetis Inc.

“We have a strategic relationship with Toumetis to incorporate Cascadence with Itron’s waveform detection and classification agents on Gen5 Riva meters to provide grid edge analytics and operational awareness—helping utilities detect and locate precursor conditions, prioritize detection risk and restore power faster.”

—Don Reeves, Senior Vice President, Outcomes, Itron

Program Focus Areas

• Prevent outages (reduce customer interruptions): Identify early warning signs—such as abnormal voltage behavior, repeating waveform patterns or emerging equipment stress—so crews can address issues before they become sustained customer outages.
• Shorten outage duration (reduce restoration minutes): Improve fault location precision and event triage to reduce patrol time and accelerate dispatch decisions and restoration.
• Wildfire mitigation in high-risk areas: Prioritize potential ignition-related electrical conditions for rapid investigation and response to support safer operations in high-fire-threat districts.
• Integrated operational view and reporting: Consolidate monitoring, alerting, workflows and post-event reporting to support continuous improvement and measurable outcomes.
  
  

Initial work includes data integration and measuring results over time, including prevented events, time-to-locate and time-to-restore metrics. Itron and Toumetis expect to use the results to guide a potential expansion into additional circuits and operating scenarios.

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.

Itron® and the Itron Logo are registered trademarks of Itron, Inc in the United States and other countries and regions.. All third-party trademarks are property of their respective owners and any usage herein does not suggest or imply any relationship between Itron and the third party unless expressly stated.

About Toumetis

Toumetis delivers SME powered AI/ML and physics-informed analytics that help electric utilities predict, prevent, detect, and locate grid events. Its Cascadence platform unifies disparate grid-edge and enterprise data sources to accelerate operational decision-making, improve reliability, and support wildfire mitigation. Cascadence is deployed across more than 800 SDG&E electric distribution circuits.

Media Contacts

Itron: Alison Mallahan, Senior Manager, Corporate Communications — PR@itron.com — 509.891.3802
Toumetis: Mark Willnerd, CEO & President — willnerd@toumetis.com — 208-841-1388

Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains forward-looking statements, including expectations regarding performance and operational outcomes. Actual results may differ based on implementation, operating conditions, and other factors.

FAQ

What is the ITRI and Toumetis pilot with SDG&E doing to reduce wildfire risk?

The pilot uses real-time analytics to detect electrical precursors and prioritize high-risk events to prevent ignition. According to Itron, Cascadence™ and meter waveform classification aim to identify abnormal voltage and waveform patterns so crews can intervene before outages or ignition conditions escalate.

How will the ITRI project measure improvements to SAIFI and SAIDI?

The project will track prevented events, time-to-locate and time-to-restore metrics to measure SAIFI and SAIDI impact. According to Itron, integrated reporting will quantify outage prevention and restoration-minute reductions over time to assess effectiveness and guide expansion.

Which data sources does the ITRI and Toumetis system integrate for fault location?

The system combines smart meter waveforms, substation power quality, relay signals and other grid sensors into one operational view. According to Itron, this unified dataset supports a physics-based location algorithm plus AI/ML models for faster, more precise fault location and triage.

What operational benefits can ITRI shareholders expect from this SDG&E deployment?

The deployment aims to reduce customer interruptions and shorten restoration minutes through earlier detection and faster fault location. According to Itron, successful metrics could support broader rollouts that improve reliability and operational efficiency across additional circuits.

Will the ITRI and Toumetis pilot expand beyond initial Southern California circuits?

The companies plan to use measured results to guide potential expansion into additional circuits and operating scenarios. According to Itron, initial work focuses on data integration and outcome measurement before deciding on broader deployment based on demonstrated metrics.