Thomas Deitrich on grid transformation
From What's driving the energy industry? Itron CEO Tom Dietrich talks AI, smart grids at DTECH · · DTECH
“Grid transformation as a topic is not a slogan that we can adopt anymore; it's something that we have to take on and something that we have to do. The foundation of it is data, so how can we put together and use all of the data that's in our hands today to enable that transformation of the grid.”
On , Thomas Deitrich, Chief Executive Officer, President & Director at ITRON INC, spoke about grid transformation during What's driving the energy industry? Itron CEO Tom Dietrich talks AI, smart grids at DTECH on DTECH.
About Thomas Deitrich
Tom Deitrich, president and CEO of Itron, has focused his recent public remarks on the role of data, artificial intelligence, and grid edge intelligence in modernizing the electricity grid. At the DTECH 2026 conference, he stated that grid performance has "never been more critical" and that the industry must address resiliency, reliability, affordability, and safety. He emphasized that utilities must balance the need for innovation with the responsibility of maintaining a stable grid, describing the challenge as "keeping all the plates spinning." Deitrich also highlighted the importance of trustworthy data, saying that "every insight needs to be explainable and every recommendation needs to be traceable," and that the use of AI must be done in a way that builds trust. Deitrich has also discussed the significant increase in electricity demand, noting that after two decades of flat growth, the industry may see 6–7% annualized growth over the next 30 years. He pointed to the rising costs of wildfires for western U.S. utilities, which he said had increased from about 2% of revenue to nearly 25% in 2024, and noted that cyber security attacks were up 70% year-over-year. On the company’s financial performance, Deitrich reported that Itron set new records for margins, profit, and free cash flow in the third quarter of 2025, and that the company’s opportunity pipeline had expanded by over 25% since the start of the year. He also discussed the planned acquisition of Urb, a SaaS-based provider of emergency preparedness and response tools, which he said would complement Itron’s grid edge data capabilities.