Debt - Credit Facility Additional Information (Details) - USD ($)		12 Months Ended
		Dec. 31, 2018	Jan. 19, 2018	Jan. 05, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 22, 2017	Jun. 23, 2015
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument, face amount				$ 1,200,000,000			$ 725,000,000
Line of credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity				500,000,000
Senior notes			$ 100,000,000			$ 300,000,000
Standby Letters of Credit [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity		$ 300,000,000
Letters of credit outstanding, amount		41,000,000.0
Revolving Credit Facility [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity				50,000,000
Multicurrency revolving line of credit		0
USD Denominated Term Loan [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument, face amount				$ 650,000,000
Line of Credit [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Multicurrency revolving line of credit		0			$ 125,414,000
Net available for additional borrowings and LOCs	[1]	$ 459,017,000			342,705,000
Secured Debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument, collateral		All obligations under the 2018 credit facility are guaranteed by Itron, Inc. and material U.S. domestic subsidiaries and are secured by a pledge of substantially all of the assets of Itron, Inc. and material U.S. domestic subsidiaries, including a pledge of their related assets. This includes a pledge of 100% of the capital stock of material U.S. domestic subsidiaries and up to 66% of the voting stock (100% of the non-voting stock) of first-tier foreign subsidiaries. In addition, the obligations of any foreign subsidiary who is a foreign borrower, as defined by the 2018 credit facility, are guaranteed by the foreign subsidiary and by its direct and indirect foreign parents.
Minimum [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of credit facility, unused capacity, commitment fee percentage		0.18%
Maximum [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of credit facility, unused capacity, commitment fee percentage		0.35%
London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument, description of variable rate basis		the LIBOR rate
Debt instrument, basis spread on variable rate		1.75%
Debt instrument, interest rate at period end		4.28%
EURIBOR [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument, description of variable rate basis		EURIBOR rate
Alternate base rate (1) [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument, description of variable rate basis		the prime rate
Alternate base rate (2) [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument, description of variable rate basis		the Federal Reserve effective rate
Alternate base rate (3) [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument, description of variable rate basis		one month LIBOR
Federal Reserve Effect Rate [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument, basis spread on variable rate		0.50%
London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument, basis spread on variable rate		1.00%
Credit Facility [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity	[1]	$ 500,000,000			500,000,000
Multicurrency revolving line of credit	[1]	0			125,414,000
Letters of credit outstanding, amount	[1]	40,983,000			31,881,000
Net available for additional borrowings and LOCs	[1]	$ 259,017,000			$ 218,119,000

[1] Refer to "Note 6: Debt" for details regarding our secured credit facilities, including the refinancing of the 2015 credit facility.