Italy’s electricity demand reached a record monthly high of 32.5 TWh in July, up 8.3% from the same month in 2025, as exceptionally high temperatures pushed up power consumption. At the same time, solar generation continued to expand, rising by 20.6% year on year to 6.7 TWh, according to data published by Terna, Italy’s electricity transmission system operator.
Renewable energy sources covered 41.5% of national electricity demand during the month, although this was below the 44.5% recorded in July 2025. The decline in the overall renewable share came as wind, hydropower, geothermal and bioenergy generation fell, offsetting part of the strong increase in photovoltaic output.
Photovoltaic generation increased by 1,144 GWh compared with July 2025. Terna attributed most of this increase to the growth in installed capacity, which contributed an additional 946 GWh, while improved production capacity accounted for a further 198 GWh.
Italy added 745 MW of new renewable capacity in July, including 405 MW from solar and wind plants connected to the high-voltage grid. By July 31, the country’s total installed renewable capacity had reached 87.70 GW, comprising 47.30 GW of solar and 14.0 GW of wind capacity.
Between January and July 2026, solar capacity increased by 3,791 MW, while the increase compared with July 2025 stood at 6,874 MW, according to Terna.
Despite the expansion of photovoltaic capacity, renewable generation overall remained relatively stable in July, increasing by just 0.8%. Wind generation declined 20.3%, hydropower fell 14.9%, geothermal generation decreased 3.6% and bioenergy dropped 2%.
July’s electricity consumption was also shaped by unusually hot weather. The average monthly temperature was 1.2°C higher than in July 2025 and almost 2°C above the average of the previous ten years. During the final five days of the month, temperatures were as much as 6°C above seasonal norms.
As a result, Italy’s annual peak electricity demand reached approximately 58 GW on July 15, 4.5% higher than the peak recorded in 2025.
Demand increased across the country, rising by 8.3% in both northern and southern Italy and the islands, while central Italy recorded growth of 7.9%.
After adjusting for temperature and calendar effects, electricity demand still increased by 5.1%. On an economically adjusted basis, taking seasonal, calendar and temperature factors into account, demand rose 1.6%, marking the third consecutive month of growth and bringing the trend back to levels recorded before the 2022 energy crisis.
Domestic production covered 84.4% of Italy’s electricity demand in July, while net imports supplied the remaining 15.6%.
Net domestic electricity generation reached 27.7 TWh, an increase of 7.9% year on year. The balance of imports and exports also rose by 10.2%, reflecting a 4.4% increase in imports and a 49.3% decline in exports.
Thermal generation increased by 14.1% during the month. According to Terna, the increase reflected the need to meet the sharp rise in electricity demand amid relatively stable renewable generation.
Industrial electricity consumption also continued to grow. Terna’s IMCEI index, which tracks electricity use among around 1,000 energy-intensive industrial companies, increased by 2.1% in July compared with the same month in 2025. Between January and July, the index was 4% higher than during the same period last year.
Alongside the expansion of renewable generation, Italy continues to build out its energy storage infrastructure. As of July 31, the country had 948,154 energy storage installations, representing 19.43 GWh of storage capacity and 8.0 GW of nominal power.
The latest figures therefore show a mixed picture for Italy’s renewable sector. Solar generation and installed capacity continued to grow strongly, while the contribution from wind, hydropower and other renewable technologies declined during a month marked by exceptionally high electricity demand.
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