KeyBank wants to help finance more energy-efficient cities. The bank’s equipment-financing arm is partnering with Itron, which modernizes utility grids, to help cities finance infrastructure upgrades. 

“Representatives from Key will work directly with account managers from Itron, as well as their end-user clients, to provide payment plan solutions,” said Amy Gross, executive vice president of commercial vendors and government finance at Key Equipment Finance. “Financing helps the account manager get to a decision maker, who is ultimately controlling the use of funds.” 

By partnering with Itron, KeyBank can gain the business of cities looking to cut carbon emissions and energy costs. The added business could provide a boost to KeyBank’s municipality business, which Gross estimates will fund $1.5 billion this year. 

Itron’s solutions help cities manage their utilities from a centralized hub. Using the platform’s street-lighting solution, for example, the city manager’s office can see outages and communicate them to workers in the field. Previously, workers would inspect street lights on a schedule, without knowing which to target, and the solution saves workers time they would otherwise spend checking functioning lights. The company also offers solutions for gas and water utilities.  

Itron counts cities like Paris, Chicago and Copenhagen as customers, and works with about 8,000 utility companies and cities globally. According to the company, it can provide cities with up to 75% in energy savings. “We don’t create technology for technology’s sake,” said Angela Lockwood, smart cities marketing director at Itron. “We are driven to create a more resourceful world by managing precious resources. We bring the foundational technology on which smart city programs and initiatives can be built.”   

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KeyBank has $145 billion in assets and is headquartered in Cleveland. Key Equipment Finance, based in Superior, Colo., funds projects in a variety of fields, including health care, technology and education. Its government division helps finance projects for both municipal and federal government projects.  

According to Gross, KeyBank’s success with Itron hinges on familiarity. “This is a brand new relationship,” she said. “There’s a huge effort that will be taken to educate the account managers on financing and how they can best present that to their client.”