In June 2025, we announced our collaboration with Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator S.A. (HEDNO), the sole electricity provider in Greece and one of Europe’s largest, to modernize its electric grid and enhance the customer experience. Today, we are excited to share that our flagship MDM system is now live, marking a significant step forward in HEDNO’s journey toward a more intelligent, reliable and future-ready grid. 

At a time when many utilities face long lead times before major modernization projects reach go-live, this achievement is especially significant. Serving 7.7 million customers across mainland Greece and islands, HEDNO operates one of the most complex distribution networks in Europe, making such rapid progress even more noteworthy. Through the combined expertise and deep collaboration of HEDNO, Itron and technology partner ZIV Automation, the team has accelerated execution of the utility’s ambitious goals, bringing critical systems online in less than a year and advancing grid modernization across the entire country of Greece.

The Challenge: Modernizing a Complex Grid
HEDNO faces unique geographic and operational challenges. Its territory spans dense urban areas, mountainous terrain and remote islands. For HEDNO, grid management is inherently complex. Adding to this complexity are aging infrastructure, increasing renewable integration and ambitious sustainability goals within a rapidly evolving energy landscape. These factors are pushing HEDNO’s operations to the limit and underscore the growing need for modernization to ensure continued reliability, efficiency and customer satisfaction. Considering the project scale and complexity, achieving such momentum in such a short amount of time is energizing for all parties involved as we continue forward on Greece’s journey toward a modern grid.

The Solution: Edge Intelligence Meets Smart Metering
Smart metering is at the core of Greece’s grid modernization journey. To bring its vision to life, HEDNO has deployed Itron’s Enterprise Edition (IEE) Meter Data Management (MDM) system to manage nearly 7.7 million meters, alongside three new head-end systems (HES) and its Legacy head-end system. New head-ends include Itron’s Utility IQ, which will oversee the approximately 1 million new NB-IoT cellular smart meters designed and manufactured by technology partner ZIV Automation. 

Together, these solutions provide HEDNO with comprehensive, timely visibility into its meter data and unlock capabilities that go far beyond traditional processes like meter-to-cash. With advanced tools for detecting losses, optimizing revenue collection and predicting maintenance, HEDNO will empower its grid with greater agility and precision, ultimately improving service quality for its millions of customers. 

These advancements also enable better asset management and secure data sharing, which are critical elements of an intelligent, resilient grid. Most importantly, this transformation supports HEDNO’s long-term vision to integrate distributed energy resources and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050—marking the start of a new era in sustainable, efficient and customer-centric energy management in Greece. 

Empowering the Intelligent Edge

To maximize the value of its smart meters, HEDNO is leveraging Itron’s Intelligent Edge Operating System (IEOS), which comes pre-integrated with IEE MDM. This integration enables seamless connectivity across multiple head-end systems and customer information systems, giving HEDNO the ability to collect, process, store and analyze smart device data, events and alarms in real time. By standardizing and simplifying integration, IEOS enables HEDNO to focus on strategic operations while accelerating cost savings and efficiency.

Paving the Way for Greece’s Intelligent Energy Future

HEDNO’s modernization journey includes a technology upgrade, but more importantly, it serves as a roadmap for Greece’s energy future. By deploying advanced solutions like IEE MDM and IEOS, HEDNO is laying the foundation for capabilities that will transform grid management today and for generations to come. 

This is just the beginning. These platforms enable continued innovation, supporting the addition of advanced applications over time such as distributed intelligence, energy forecasting, DER management and advanced analytics. Beyond operational benefits, this transformation positions HEDNO as a leader in Europe’s energy transition and demonstrates how utilities of all sizes and service territories can leverage digital innovation to deliver reliability, sustainability and customer-centric service.

Itron/ZIV Automation and HEDNO’s collaboration is focused on turning complexity into opportunity. Together, we’re shaping a smarter, cleaner and more resilient energy ecosystem in Greece, one meter at a time.