Grid intelligence, activated: NET2GRID and Itron at DTECH 2026
- Anna Manukyan
- Mar 24
- 3 min read
DTECH 2026 was all about moving beyond insight to action, and nowhere was that more tangible than at the NET2GRID and Itron booths. Across the show floor, utilities saw how on-the-edge intelligence, cloud disaggregation and real-time device awareness are no longer future concepts, but production-ready tools driving grid reliability, distributed energy resource (DER) integration and customer experiences today.
NET2GRID and Itron demonstrated how a tightly integrated ecosystem, spanning grid edge devices, Itron’s Distributed Intelligence (DI) technology and NET2GRID EnergyAI® on-the edge and in-cloud analytics, is enabling utilities to operate smarter, faster and more locally than ever before.
Where grid challenges meet real solutions
Key demonstrations included:
Transformer overload monitoring: NET2GRID EnergyAI® models running at the grid edge detect behind-the-meter electric vehicle (EV) and photovoltaic (PV) behavior and load dynamics, providing early visibility into transformer stress and emerging overload risks.
Targeted customer engagement to support DERMS and time-of-use enrollment: By identifying specific customers with EVs, solar or other DERs, utilities can move from broad outreach to precision engagement, improving DERMS participation and program outcomes.
Data-driven Non-Wires Alternatives (NWA) design: High-fidelity, transformer-level insights help utilities determine where DERs or demand flexibility can defer or eliminate traditional infrastructure upgrades.
By combining Itron’s DI technology and grid edge devices with NET2GRID EnergyAI®, utilities gain timely, location-aware insights, turning reactive operations into proactive decision-making and demonstrating how edge intelligence reduces latency, minimizes data movement and amplifies operational impact.
One intelligence layer, multiple operational views
While intelligence starts at the endpoint, its value multiplies when it’s accessible across teams. At the NET2GRID booth, live demos showed how on-the-edge DER insights are visualized through Itron IPL (Itron Presentation Layer), Itron’s UI for DI insights, as well as in Itron IntelliFLEX DERMS UI.
These demos illustrated how insights flow seamlessly from the grid edge into utility applications—supporting operations, planning and customer programs from a shared, trusted source of truth.
Visualizing the grid intelligence stack
To understand how these solutions function in a live environment, one must look at how the data is layered—moving from broad system awareness down to individual device-level action. At DTECH, this progression was demonstrated through layered dashboards that reflect how utilities move from visibility to anomaly and problem detection to intervention.
Modern grid management begins with making invisible load visible. Electrification introduces new, dynamic demand patterns—EV charging, heat pumps and behind-the-meter solar—that traditional monitoring often fails to distinguish.
The dashboard above provides a high-level geographical view of transformer capacity using heat maps to highlight emerging stress points. Real-time load curves and voltage trends provide additional operational context, while embedded NET2GRID EnergyAI® detection models identify likely EVs, HVAC systems and other behind-the-meter assets contributing to load growth. Rather than simply showing capacity utilization, this layer answers a more important question: Where is risk forming—and why?
Once a risk is identified—such as an overloaded transformer—the stack shifts from monitoring to Operational Action. By drilling down into the specific service points connected to that transformer, operators can view the individual service points connected to it, along with detected and classified DERs.
This dashboard above demonstrates the "action" phase of grid edge intelligence, showing a granular, transformer-level map connecting specific service points to the grid. The interface categorizes assets into Controllable vs. Non-Controllable DERs—such as EVs, battery energy storage systems and pool pumps—allowing operators to send direct control or targeting requests to balance local load. While the first dashboard shows where the risk is forming, the second one comes with a clear answer on which specific assets can be leveraged to mitigate it, as well as which assets still need to be targeted for enrollment into managed programs.
A shared vision for the grid edge
The future grid is distributed, intelligent and increasingly autonomous at the edge. Together, NET2GRID and Itron are enabling that future by providing an open ecosystem that turns raw data into production-scale EnergyAI applications, by combining:
Advanced metering and DI infrastructure
Proven, production-scale EnergyAI applications
Open ecosystems that turn insights into action
This collaboration addresses a critical gap currently facing the industry. As Luke Scheidler, senior product manager at Itron, noted during the event: “Multiple utilities at DTECH expressed both an increasing need for improved coordination between grid and customer teams and the lack of tools to do so. Itron and NET2GRID provide industry-leading awareness of both distribution system constraints and behind-the-meter asset availability—providing utilities not just visibility but also the ability to act.”
For utilities navigating DER growth, electrification and grid constraints, the message from DTECH 2026 was simple: the intelligence you need is already at the edge. Now it’s time to use it.
