Itron Inc., of Spokane, has reached a research-and-development agreement with the Idaho National Laboratory, an engineering lab in southeast Idaho that works on nuclear, energy research, science, and national defense projects for the U.S. Department of Energy.

The pact establishes a cooperative project to assess and develop concepts to reduce security vulnerabilities associated with what's called smart utility metering, in which Itron is a market leader, and to ensure that the security needs of the smart grid are met, Itron says. That term refers to the national energy grid, which Itron believes extends to the level of the utility meter at a home or small business.

In smart metering, automatic meter-reading units read usage data on utility meters and transmit that information through wireless networks to utilities. Utilities use the information for billing, but also can use it to react to systemwide peak usage levels by turning down or turning off heating or cooling units and lighting in homes, offices, factories, and other settings. For utilities, such load-managing systems are seen as key to avoiding brownouts and blackouts, encouraging efficient use of energy resources and water, holding down costs, and offering flexible pricing to give customers incentives to use energy during low-demand times.

"Itron's smart meters and networks are fostering the modernization of the nation's electrical power infrastructure, acting as the catalyst for the power grid of tomorrow," says Malcolm Unsworth, Itron's president and chief executive officer. "It's a leadership role that we take seriously. We embrace security as paramount to the responsible delivery of these technologies to market."

Itron and others long have said that they want to deter efforts by terrorists to manipulate the smart grid to cut off energy or water supplies or cause threats in other ways. Itron says its cooperative project with the DOE includes the enhanced security architecture of Open Way, Itron's smart metering technology, as well as its 2.4GZ Open Way Gas Module and other home-area network devices.

Rita Wells, of the Idaho National Laboratory, says the lab teams up with technology providers such as Itron to share information and collaborate on security issues associated with the nation's critical infrastructure. "These joint initiatives are an effective way to promote cyber security between private industries and government agencies," she says.

Itron spokeswoman Deloris Duquette says that because a smart meter has so many capabilities, it becomes like a computer and "could be subject to hackers."Because of that, Itron encrypts the software the meter uses and also has put a security chip in the meter.

Hackers, she says, "would attempt to get upstream" from a meter at a home or business to manipulate a utility's entire data-management system. "That's what our system stops," she says.

Lynne Ellen, senior vice president and chief information officer of DTE Energy, a Michigan diversified energy company that is deploying Itron's OpenWay smart meters, says, "It's been suggested that utilities should demand that their suppliers adopt secure development practices, and require them to undergo third-party security auditing. Itron is voluntarily participating in security testing and setting an example of responsibility that all vendors should follow."

Itron released in February an enhanced-security version of its OpenWay meter. At the time, Philip Mezey, senior vice president and chief operating officer for Itron North America, said, "Our customers are demanding a level of security that is currently not provided by anyone in this industry." Itron also has an operation in Europe that serves the non-U.S. market.

Itron says it has the most contracted market share for advanced meters in North America, and that all of its larger customers have enhanced security as part of their deployments of Itron's smart-metering technology. Those customers include San Diego Gas & Electric, which is deploying 2.3 million meters; Houston-based CenterPoint Energy, which is deploying 2.4 million meters; Southern California Edison, which is deploying 5.3 million meters; and DTE Energy.

Itron announced last week that it had started manufacturing more than 4 million OpenWay smart meters for Southern California Edison at its 317,000-square-foot Oconee Manufacturing Facility, in West Union, S.C. The utility could opt to obtain from another supplier the other 1 million smart meters it will install, although all of its meters will use Itron's communication technology, Duquette says.