Itron Inc., the Liberty Lake-based maker of energy-management equipment and systems, says an electric utility in Vermont has selected it to provide smart-grid technology, and a California utility separately has installed a landmark 4 million Itron smart meters.

Itron hasn't disclosed the value of the work.

Burlington Electric Department, of Burlington, Vt., has selected Itron's smart grid products to manage its electric grid, Itron said in a press release. BED's project will include 20,000 Itron smart meters, network communication infrastructure, and professional services, all of which are intended to make the grid more efficient and reliable, Itron said.

BED is a municipally owned electric utility serving 16,000 residential customers and more than 3,600 commercial customers.

The smart grid technology is intended to help BED streamline its meter data collection and billing operations and enhance the utility's ability to optimize its distribution system, Itron said.

BED also will have the ability to read meters on demand and remotely connect and disconnect service.

Meantime, Rosemead, Calif.-based Southern California Edison, one of the largest electric utilities serving Southern and Central California, says it has installed 4 million Itron smart meters.

SEC selected Itron in 2009 to provide the meters and the technology that allows them to communicate through the utility's network.

Smart meters read usage data and transmit that information to utilities, which use it for billing and reacting to peak usage levels by turning down heating or cooling units and lighting. Such load-managing systems help avoid brownouts and blackouts and encourage efficient use of energy resources.

The technology is enabling a growing number of SCE customers to take advantage of new, advanced programs and services, Itron said.

Customers can set a target for their monthly bill and receive alerts based on information from their smart meter if it projects their usage will exceed their budget.

SCE aims to achieve a peak load reduction of 1,000 megawatts and 365,000 tons of greenhouse gasses a year.

Itron provides energy- and water-resource management equipment and technology for nearly 8,000 utilities around the world.