Duquesne Light Company Builds Foundation for Grid Edge Intelligence with Itron
Itron’s OpenWay Forward Solution Provides Utility with a Cost-Effective Path from Traditional AMI to Grid Edge Intelligence
- Builds on Duquesne Light Company's existing AMI 1.0 investments and smart streetlight network
- Deploys 20,000 Itron distributed intelligence-enabled endpoints to improve fault detection
- Enhances grid visibility, operational intelligence and real-time decision-making capabilities
LIBERTY LAKE, Wash. — Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI), the intelligent infrastructure provider for modern energy and water management, is expanding its collaboration with Duquesne Light Company (DLC) to support the Pennsylvania utility’s transition to next-generation Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) with Itron’s Grid Edge Intelligence (GEI).
DLC, which serves more than 600,000 customers in the Pittsburgh region, currently operates Itron’s OpenWay® smart meter network and is building on that foundation with Itron’s OpenWay Forward, a phased modernization approach that enables utilities to evolve from AMI 1.0 meter-to-cash automation to AMI 2.0 grid orchestration. With this transition, DLC will have greater visibility across the grid, improved reliability and be able to make more informed operational decisions.
As utilities look to modernize aging AMI systems while managing costs and minimizing disruption, DLC has identified reliability, resiliency and leveraging advanced technology to enhance operational performance and customer service as key priorities.
With OpenWay Forward, DLC can extend the value of its existing infrastructure while adding GEI and distributed intelligence capabilities over time, enabling more intelligence and decision-making at the grid edge and helping reduce upfront replacement costs, preserve continuity of operations and billing, and align modernization investments with business objectives.
The expanded collaboration is expected to support capabilities including:
- DI-enabled fault detection, supported by an initial deployment of 20,000 DI endpoints to improve outage detection and response.
- Enhanced visibility into distributed energy resources and behind-the-meter activity, supporting a more comprehensive view of the distribution system.
- A unified operations platform enabled by Itron’s UtilityIQ® software suite, a universal headend system bringing together operational data and insights.
- Real-time and near real-time grid-edge visibility and decision support through edge computing, enabling intelligence at the grid edge and helping operators respond more effectively to changing conditions.
"At Duquesne Light Company, we are focused on investing in technologies that improve reliability, strengthen grid resilience and deliver value for our customers today while preparing our system for future energy needs," said Mitch Davda, director of meter operations at DLC. "By building on our longstanding partnership with Itron, we can now enhance visibility across the grid, improve outage response and unlock new capabilities to build a more intelligent and adaptive electric system in a practical, affordable way."
“OpenWay Forward is not simply a migration project. It is a supported operational transition designed to help utilities modernize while protecting existing investments and minimizing disruption,” said John Marcolini, senior vice president of Networked Solutions at Itron. “As utilities evaluate how to evolve their existing AMI systems to support more advanced use cases, Duquesne Light Company is taking a path to Grid Edge Intelligence that makes the most of prior investments, accelerates time to value and enables modernization at a pace that aligns with their business objectives.”
About Itron
Itron is transforming how the world manages energy, water and city services. Our trusted intelligent infrastructure solutions help utilities and cities improve efficiency, build resilience and deliver safe, reliable and affordable service. With edge intelligence, we connect people, data insights and devices so communities can better manage the essential resources they rely on to live and thrive. Join us as we create a more resourceful world: www.itron.com.
Itron®, the Itron Logo, OpenWay, and UtilityIQ are registered trademarks of Itron, Inc. in the United States and other countries and regions. All third-party trademarks are property of their respective owners and any usage herein does not suggest or imply any relationship between Itron and the third party unless expressly stated.
This press release was originally issued by Itron on Oct. 14 2026.
