The global smart meter market, valued at $26.92 billion in 2025, is projected to grow to $63.15 billion by 2035 at a CAGR of 8.90%. Growth is driven by government smart grid mandates, renewable energy adoption, EV charging infrastructure, and advanced metering infrastructure deployment. Asia Pacific leads with 30.90% market share, while North America remains a developed and expanding market.

Novara Energy Alliance, formed from the merger of Urbanova and INTENT, officially launched on May 7, 2026, with a mission to unite innovators, communities, and leaders to solve energy and water challenges in the Inland Northwest. The organization, backed by founding partners Avista, Itron, and McKinstry, aims to improve energy affordability, reliability, resilience, and opportunity through collaborative problem-solving across industry, government, academia, and community stakeholders.

Novara Energy Alliance, formed from the merger of Urbanova and INTENT, officially launched to address energy and water challenges in the Inland Northwest. The organization unites innovators, communities, and leaders with founding mission partners Avista, Itron, and McKinstry to develop solutions for energy efficiency, resilience, and extreme weather mitigation. The alliance is recruiting a permanent CEO to replace interim CEO Kim Pearman-Gillman.

Itron stock recovered from a 9.7% intraday decline to close slightly positive (+0.1%) on Tuesday despite mixed earnings results. The company beat Q1 earnings and sales expectations, but issued weaker-than-expected forward guidance for Q2, with projected sales of $560-570M versus analyst estimates of $607M and EPS guidance of $1.25-1.35 versus expected $1.46.

The global heat meter market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.51% from 2026 to 2035, driven by rising adoption of smart metering technologies, district heating infrastructure expansion, and government energy efficiency regulations. Wireless connectivity dominates with 61% market share, while North America leads with 40% revenue share. Asia Pacific is projected to experience the fastest growth at 7.92% CAGR.

Itron announced an extended collaboration with Ausgrid, Australia's largest electricity distributor, to deploy its IntelliFLEX Low Voltage Distributed Energy Resource Management System. The solution will help manage the rapid growth of rooftop solar installations and meet grid stability requirements under NSW's Emergency Backstop Mechanism, enabling real-time monitoring and control of consumer energy resources.

The article presents four market predictions for 2026: (1) Gemini's market share surge may challenge OpenAI's AI dominance, potentially disrupting the sector; (2) a stock market correction of 10%+ is likely in the second half of 2026, following historical patterns; (3) an electricity power bottleneck for AI infrastructure creates opportunities for companies that optimize grid efficiency; (4) despite near-term volatility, the long-term market outlook remains positive with strong fundamentals supporting growth.

The global smart utilities market is projected to grow from $46.64 billion in 2024 to $157.46 billion by 2034, driven by grid automation, IoT, and digital technologies. North America leads the market, with Asia Pacific and Middle East showing fastest growth potential.

Itron has partnered with Connected Lighting Solutions (CLS) to deploy smart lighting technologies across Australia, enabling more efficient urban infrastructure and supporting utilities and councils in improving public services and reducing emissions.

Itron Inc. announced plans to acquire Locusview, a privately held utility-focused software company, for $525 million in cash. The acquisition aims to expand Itron's Resiliency Solutions and digital construction management capabilities.

Itron is supporting Project Jupiter in Western Australia to accelerate the integration of distributed energy resources (DERs) using its Low Voltage Distributed Energy Resource Management System, enabling households and businesses to participate in virtual power plants.

Itron announced plans to acquire Urbint, a privately held software company, for $325 million in cash. The acquisition aims to enhance Itron's operational resilience solutions for utilities and infrastructure management.