What does it mean to embed intelligence at the edge of the grid? And how can doing so tangibly improve internal processes and meet changing external expectations for today’s utilities?
These are simple questions with countless answers that dominated conversations across the first day of Itron Inspire. The annual event kicked off on October 27th, 2025 in Orlando, Florida and was designed to provide attendees with ideas and strategies that allow them to explore these questions and define specific answers that create quantifiable value for utility teams and workflows of all types and sizes.
The approach to doing so is something that Tom Deitrich, president and CEO of Itron, highlighted in a big way during his opening keynote. He emphasized the role of real-time data and edge intelligence as part of what it means to do everything from getting the next generation involved in this industry to knowing exactly when a truck needs to be rolled to address an outage.
“The key to all of it is data,” Deitrich told the crowd. “With the right data, we can understand when a transformer is starting to go bad, equip consumers with the knowledge around how they’re using utility services, and use microgrids to provide a better quality of service. That’s what grid intelligence is, and that’s what’s going to open up possibilities that we haven’t even thought about.”