Badger Meter (NYSE: BMI) today announced it has been awarded a contract to provide its Badger® ORION® radio-frequency transmitters and collectors for gas meters to Duke Energy.

“The agreement with Duke Energy is Badger Meter’s first major win in the natural gas industry,” said Richard A. Meeusen, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Badger Meter. “While we have won smaller contracts, this win demonstrates the long-term benefits, flexibility and compatibility of our ORION RF system for the natural gas market. We look forward to building on this win to further expand our position in the natural gas industry.”

The Badger ORION transmitter for gas meters is a totally integrated unit that mounts directly on the gas meter. Using one-way, bubble-up radio-frequency technology, ORION transmits meter readings to collectors, which then upload the readings to the utility. The Badger ORION RF system was originally developed for the water utility market and is currently being used by water utilities across the U.S. Based on the strong customer response to ORION’s many features and benefits, the system was adapted for the gas utility market.

About Duke Energy

Duke Energy is one of the largest energy companies in the United States. Its regulated utility operations serve approximately four million customers located in five states – North Carolina, South Carolina, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky – representing a population of approximately 11 million people. Duke Energy’s commercial power and international business segments operate diverse power generation assets in North America and Latin America, including a growing portfolio of renewable energy assets in the United States.

Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Duke Energy is a Fortune 500 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available on the Internet at: www.duke-energy.com. More information on Duke Energy’s smart grid is available at: http://smartenergynewsroom.com.

About Badger Meter

Badger Meter is a leading manufacturer and marketer of products incorporating liquid flow measurement and control technologies, developed both internally and with other technology companies, as well as the leader in providing digital connectivity to AMR/AMI technologies. Its products are used to measure and control the flow of liquids in a variety of applications.

Certain statements contained in this news release, as well as other information provided from time to time by the Company or its employees, may contain forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “think,” “should” and “objective” or similar expressions are intended to identify forward looking statements. All such forward looking statements are based on the Company’s then current views and assumptions and involve risks and uncertainties that include, among other things:

• the continued shift in the Company’s business from lower cost, manually read meters toward more expensive, value-added automatic meter reading (AMR) systems and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) systems;
• the success or failure of newer Company products;
• changes in competitive pricing and bids in both the domestic and foreign marketplaces, and in particular in continued intense price competition on government bid contracts for lower cost, manually read meters;
• the actions (or lack thereof) of the Company’s competitors;
• changes in the Company’s relationships with its alliance partners, primarily its alliance partners that provide AMR/AMI connectivity solutions, and particularly those that sell products that do or may compete with the Company’s products;
• changes in the general health of the United States and foreign economies, including to some extent such things as the length and severity of the current global economic downturn, the ability of municipal water utility customers to authorize and finance purchases of the Company’s products, the Company’s ability to obtain financing, housing starts in the United States, and overall industrial activity;
• the impact of the United States and foreign government programs to stimulate national and global economies;
• changes in the cost and/or availability of needed raw materials and parts, including recent volatility in the cost of brass castings as a result of fluctuations in commodity prices, particularly for copper and scrap metal, at the supplier level and plastic resin as a result of changes in petroleum and natural gas prices;
• the Company’s expanded role as a prime contractor for providing complete AMR/AMI systems to governmental entities, which brings with it added risks, including but not limited to, Company responsibility for subcontractor performance, additional costs and expenses if the Company and its subcontractors fail to meet the agreed-upon timetable with the governmental entity, and the Company’s expanded warranty and performance obligations;
• changes in foreign economic conditions, particularly currency fluctuations in the United States dollar, the euro and the peso;
• the loss of certain single-source suppliers, and;
• changes in laws and regulations, particularly laws dealing with the use of lead (which can be used in the manufacture of certain meters incorporating brass housings) and the U.S. Federal Communications Commission rules affecting the use and/or licensing of radio frequencies necessary for AMR/AMI products.

All of these factors are beyond the Company’s control to varying degrees. Shareholders, potential investors and other readers are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward looking statements and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward looking statements. The forward looking statements made in this document are made only as of the date of this document and the Company assumes no obligation, and disclaims any obligation, to update any such forward looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

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