East Hanover, NJ - October 17, 2006: Comverge, Inc. announced today that it has formed a strategic partnership with Itron Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI), to provide the demand response and load control components to Itron's OpenWay Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) platform.

The agreement, which has been in place for several months, establishes Comverge as the principal provider of demand response technology, such as "smart" thermostats and load control switches, for use with Itron's OpenWay AMI solution.

The OpenWay development redefines the standards for AMI and demand response within the industry by utilizing Itron's open architecture communications network to enable price responsive rate schedules, load shed verification, and messaging (such as price signals) to the residential, mass market segment of utility's customer base. The devices will communicate via Zigbee wireless in-home communications standard.

OpenWay by Itron is an entirely new, highly adaptable, open-architecture AMI solution being developed by Itron and its partners to meet a significantly broader set of advanced metering, communication and control technology requirements that utilities will face in the years to come. OpenWay by Itron sets a new standard – both in form and function – for AMI technology by providing: open-standards architecture, full two-way communication to each meter, robust interval data collection, mass market demand response capability, a practical communication pathway into the home via the ZigBee, and extensive feature/functionality to support "smart grid" requirements.

"In our development of the OpenWay architecture, Itron sought development partnerships with market leaders for key areas of the project in order optimize our time to market and provide the best possible AMI solution to our customers," said Malcolm Unsworth, senior vice president for Itron Hardware Solutions. "When it came to selecting a partner for demand response portion of OpenWay, Comverge was the clear choice."

"Comverge is committed to being the leading provider of the technology and services that bring this added value to advanced metering technology," said Bud Vos, Comverge vice president of marketing, products and strategy. "We look forward to teaming with Itron on this important advancement in realizing the full impact of AMI to the utility market."

About Itron
Itron is a leading technology provider and critical source of knowledge to the global energy and water industries. Nearly 3,000 utilities worldwide rely on Itron's award-winning technology to provide the knowledge they require to optimize the delivery and use of energy and water. Itron creates value for its clients by providing industry-leading solutions for electricity metering; meter data collection; energy information management; demand response; load forecasting, analysis and consulting services; distribution system design and optimization; web-based workforce automation; and enterprise and residential energy management. To know more, start here: www.itron.com.

About Comverge
Comverge is a leading provider of clean energy solutions that enhance grid reliability and enable utilities to increase available electric capacity during periods of peak energy demand on a more cost-effective basis than conventional alternatives. For more information, please visit www.comverge.com.

Contact

At Comverge, Bud Vos, VP, Marketing, Products, & Strategy, 973.884.5970, bvos@comverge.com

At Itron, Christina Kelly, VP, Marketing/Communications Specialist, 509.891.3268, christina.kelly@itron.com