Exhibit 99.1

            Itron to Acquire Distribution Partner in Brazil

    SPOKANE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 11, 2006--Itron Inc.
(NASDAQ:ITRI) announced today an agreement to acquire the stock of ELO
Sistemas e Tecnologia Ltda. ("ELO Tecnologia"). The acquisition is
expected to close in the second quarter of 2006.
    ELO Tecnologia sells, installs and services electric meters,
automatic meter reading ("AMR") equipment and related systems in
Brazil and elsewhere in South America. Meter services provided by ELO
Tecnologia include field investigation services, theft and inaccurate
meter analysis, installation and other services.
    ELO Tecnologia has been Itron's distributor in South America since
November 2004 and has been manufacturing Itron's CENTRON(R)
solid-state electricity meters in Brazil since June 2005. Together,
the two companies sold more than 85,000 CENTRON meters to utilities in
Brazil in 2005, and have received orders for an additional 40,000
CENTRON meters to date in 2006. There are approximately 60 million
installed electricity meters in Brazil. The estimated market
opportunity is approximately 3 million meters annually and is expected
to grow.
    Once the acquisition closes, Itron will have offices and a
manufacturing assembly facility in Campinas and Sao Paulo, with
approximately 80 employees performing sales, manufacturing, field
investigations, installations and other services, and administrative
functions.
    "ELO Tecnologia has an excellent reputation for quality and
innovation and long standing customer relationships in South America,"
said Doug Staker, Itron's vice president and general manager,
international. "The CENTRON product has been well received and the
business case for solid-state meters is good. We look forward to
combining the strengths of our two companies to further advance
Itron's opportunities in South America. We are excited to have two of
the founders and principals of ELO Tecnologia, Marcio Curi and Marcos
Rizzo, both former managers with Schlumberger's electricity metering
operations in South America, joining our global team. We also look
forward to continuing our relationship with Gilberto Teixeira,
president of ELO Eletronicos, as we continue to act as a distribution
channel for ELO Eletronico's products."

    About Itron:

    Itron is a leading technology provider and critical source of
knowledge to the global energy and water industries. Nearly 3,000
utilities worldwide rely on Itron technology to provide the knowledge
they require to optimize the delivery and use of energy and water.
Itron creates value for its clients by providing industry-leading
solutions for electricity metering; meter data collection; energy
information management; demand response; load forecasting, analysis
and consulting services; distribution system design and optimization;
web-based workforce automation; and enterprise and residential energy
management. To know more, start here: www.itron.com.

    About ELO:

    ELO Sistemas e Tecnologia Ltda is a metering provider for the
South America market. With offices in Brazil and Chile, ELO Tecnologia
is well recognized as a long-term supplier of quality electronic
equipment and systems to the Brazilian and South American electricity
supply market. ELO Tecnologia provides integrated product and system
packages to utility companies. The company implements systems that
make possible the automation of processes, as well as the treatment of
information, with results that are directly reflected in the
generation of value for their customers. More information is available
at www.elotek.com.br
    Elo Sistemas Eletronicos has been serving the Brazilian
electricity market since 1980. In 1993, Eletronicos introduced the
concept of electronic metering for C&I applications to energy metering
in Brazil and is a recognized leader and innovator in the Brazilian
energy market.



    CONTACT: Itron Inc.
             Mima Scarpelli, 509-891-3565
             mima.scarpelli@itron.com