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Commitments and Contingencies (Text Block)
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2016
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies [Text Block]
Commitments and Contingencies
Commitments
Operating lease rental expense for factories, service and distribution locations, offices, and equipment was as follows:

 
Year Ended December 31,
 
2016
 
2015
 
2014
 
(in thousands)
Rental expense
$
14,232

 
$
15,524

 
$
19,178



Future minimum lease payments at December 31, 2016, under noncancelable operating leases with initial or remaining terms in excess of one year are as follows:

Year Ending December 31,
 
Minimum Payments
 
 
(in thousands)
2017
 
$
13,128

2018
 
12,238

2019
 
9,152

2020
 
6,026

2021
 
5,363

Beyond 2021
 
8,510

Future minimum lease payments
 
$
54,417



Rent expense is recognized straight-line over the lease term, including renewal periods if reasonably assured. We lease most of our sales and distribution locations and administrative offices. Our leases typically contain renewal options similar to the original terms with lease payments that increase based on the consumer price index.
Guarantees and Indemnifications
We are often required to obtain standby letters of credit (LOCs) or bonds in support of our obligations for customer contracts. These standby LOCs or bonds typically provide a guarantee to the customer for future performance, which usually covers the installation phase of a contract and may, on occasion, cover the operations and maintenance phase of outsourcing contracts.

Our available lines of credit, outstanding standby LOCs, and bonds are as follows:

 
At December 31,
 
2016
 
2015
 
(in thousands)
Credit facilities(1)
 
 
 
Multicurrency revolving line of credit
$
500,000

 
$
500,000

Long-term borrowings
(97,167
)
 
(151,837
)
Standby LOCs issued and outstanding
(46,103
)
 
(46,574
)
 
 
 
 
Net available for additional borrowings under the multi-currency revolving line of credit
$
356,730

 
$
301,589

Net available for additional standby LOCs under sub-facility(2)
203,897

 
253,426

 
 
 
 
Unsecured multicurrency revolving lines of credit with various financial institutions
 
 
 
Multicurrency revolving line of credit
$
91,809

 
$
97,989

Standby LOCs issued and outstanding
(21,734
)
 
(31,122
)
Short-term borrowings(3)
(69
)
 
(3,884
)
Net available for additional borrowings and LOCs
$
70,006

 
$
62,983

 
 
 
 
Unsecured surety bonds in force
$
48,221

 
$
87,558



(1)
Refer to Note 6 for details regarding our secured credit facilities.
(2) 
During the year ended December 31, 2016, as a result of entering into the first and second amendments to the 2015 credit facility, the maximum limit available for additional standby LOCs under sub-facility was reduced from $300 million to $250 million.
(3) 
Short-term borrowings are included in “Other current liabilities” on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

In the event any such standby LOC or bond is called, we would be obligated to reimburse the issuer of the standby LOC or bond; however, we do not believe that any outstanding LOC or bond will be called.

We generally provide an indemnification related to the infringement of any patent, copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property right on software or equipment within our sales contracts, which indemnifies the customer from and pays the resulting costs, damages, and attorney’s fees awarded against a customer with respect to such a claim provided that (a) the customer promptly notifies us in writing of the claim and (b) we have the sole control of the defense and all related settlement negotiations. We may also provide an indemnification to our customers for third party claims resulting from damages caused by the negligence or willful misconduct of our employees/agents in connection with the performance of certain contracts. The terms of our indemnifications generally do not limit the maximum potential payments. It is not possible to predict the maximum potential amount of future payments under these or similar agreements.
Legal Matters
We are subject to various legal proceedings and claims of which the outcomes are subject to significant uncertainty. Our policy is to assess the likelihood of any adverse judgments or outcomes related to legal matters, as well as ranges of probable losses. A determination of the amount of the liability required, if any, for these contingencies is made after an analysis of each known issue. A liability is recognized and charged to operating expense when we determine that a loss is probable and the amount can be reasonably estimated. Additionally, we disclose contingencies for which a material loss is reasonably possible, but not probable.

On July 14, 2016, we entered into a confidential settlement agreement with Transdata Incorporated (Transdata) under which Transdata agreed to dismiss with prejudice all pending litigation in various United States District Courts against us and certain of our customers. As a part of the settlement, we received a patent license from Transdata for the use of the patents in future meter production and sales.

In Brazil, the Conselho Administravo de Defesa Economica commenced an investigation of water meter suppliers, including our subsidiary, to determine whether such suppliers participated in agreements or concerted practices to coordinate their commercial policy in Brazil. On October 18, 2016, we settled with the Conselho Administravo de Defesa Economica. The settlement was not material to our results of operations or financial condition.

Itron and its subsidiaries are parties to various employment-related proceedings in jurisdictions where it does business. None of the proceedings are individually material to Itron, and we believe that we have made adequate provision such that the ultimate disposition of the proceedings will not materially affect Itron's business or financial condition.
Warranty
A summary of the warranty accrual account activity is as follows:

 
Year Ended December 31,
 
2016
 
2015
 
(in thousands)
Beginning balance
$
54,512

 
$
36,548

New product warranties
7,987

 
8,380

Other adjustments and expirations
5,933

 
37,604

Claims activity
(24,364
)
 
(25,955
)
Effect of change in exchange rates
(766
)
 
(2,065
)
Ending balance
43,302

 
54,512

Less: current portion of warranty
24,874

 
36,927

Long-term warranty
$
18,428

 
$
17,585



Total warranty expense is classified within cost of revenues and consists of new product warranties issued, costs related to extended warranty contracts, and other changes and adjustments to warranties. Warranty expense was as follows:

 
Year Ended December 31,
 
2016
 
2015
 
2014
 
(in thousands)
Total warranty expense
$
13,920

 
$
45,984

 
$
9,238



Extended Warranty
A summary of changes to unearned revenue for extended warranty contracts is as follows:

 
Year Ended December 31,
 
2016
 
2015
 
(in thousands)
Beginning balance
$
33,654

 
$
34,138

Unearned revenue for new extended warranties
1,437

 
2,792

Unearned revenue recognized
(3,594
)
 
(2,832
)
Effect of change in exchange rates
52

 
(444
)
Ending balance
31,549

 
33,654

Less: current portion of unearned revenue for extended warranty
4,226

 
3,565

Long-term unearned revenue for extended warranty within other long-term obligations
$
27,323

 
$
30,089

Health Benefits
We are self insured for a substantial portion of the cost of our U.S. employee group health insurance. We purchase insurance from a third party, which provides individual and aggregate stop loss protection for these costs. Each reporting period, we expense the costs of our health insurance plan including paid claims, the change in the estimate of incurred but not reported (IBNR) claims, taxes, and administrative fees (collectively, the plan costs).

Plan costs were as follows:

 
Year Ended December 31,
 
2016
 
2015
 
2014
 
(in thousands)
Plan costs
$
27,276

 
$
25,355

 
$
23,206


IBNR accrual, which is included in wages and benefits payable, was as follows:

 
At December 31,
 
2016
 
2015
 
(in thousands)
IBNR accrual
$
2,441

 
$
2,051



Our IBNR accrual and expenses may fluctuate due to the number of plan participants, claims activity, and deductible limits. For our employees located outside of the United States, health benefits are provided primarily through governmental social plans, which are funded through employee and employer tax withholdings.