Kalispel Tribal Utilities to Deploy Itron OpenWay Riva Solution

Itron, Inc. signed a contract with Kalispel Tribal Utilities to deploy Itron’s OpenWay Riva solution to build an Active Network for electricity. Kalispel Tribal Utilities, which was launched by the Kalispel Tribe in December 2017, was created to drive economic growth, realize environmental goals and reduce bills at its resort and casino.

With the goal of building a world-class utility, the Kalispel Tribe will collaborate with Itron to provide safe electricity while upholding the tribe’s environmental goals. With Itron’s solution, the utility will be able to efficiently manage the delivery of electricity through greater visibility into its operations and detailed usage information for customers. Utilizing the robust communication and edge computing in the network and meters, the utility will be able to detect theft, address potential safety concerns before they become hazardous as well as monitor for transformer overload conditions.

“Developing our own utility is an exercise in tribal sovereignty, and we need a robust metering solution to enable us to efficiently handle billing, delivery, operations and maintenance,” said Deane Osterman, executive director, natural resources for the Kalispel Tribe of Indians. “Itron’s solution provides us with advanced electricity meters and an open network that will allow us to access a broad ecosystem of applications and enable future possibilities for our new utility.”

“With Itron’s OpenWay Riva solution, Kalispel Tribal Utilities will be equipped to continuously analyze and manage its distribution system, which will help increase the efficiency of electricity delivery and ensure safe conditions,” said Mike Zimmer, vice president, commercial and customer enablement, North America. “By utilizing our open, standards-based solution as the foundation for its electricity delivery, Kalispel Tribal Utilities will be prepared for the future and equipped to implement new applications on its network.”