Liberty Lake-based Itron Inc., the big maker of energy-management equipment and systems, recently signed a contract with the Algerian National Company of Measurement and Control Instruments (ENAMC) to provide a large-scale commercial and industrial energy data-collection system across that country.

Itron spokeswoman Angela Lockwood says the new system, consisting of tens of thousands of meters, will be installed during the next year and a half, and the meters are being produced locally in Algeria.

"We are helping them build a production line, and they will assemble the meters in their country," Lockwood says. "Having a customer build the components is more common with international accounts."

Production of the meters already is under way, she adds. Itron will supply ENAMC with the associated technology to operate the new system, Lockwood says.

She declines to disclose the contract value. Itron has had a presence in Algeria since mid-2011, but this is its first contract with ENAMC.

The new data collection system will support the modernization of Algeria's electricity network and enable commercial and industrial clients of ENAMC to manage their energy consumption better, Itron says in a recent press release.

ENAMC will use Itron's smart-metering technology at 58 electricity distribution centers across the country, which is located in northeastern Africa and borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north. Algeria is the largest country in Africa in terms of land size and has an estimated population of more than 37 million people.

ENAMC is a subsidiary of Sonelgaz, the national company in Algeria responsible for the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity and gas.