Italy used more electricity this August than in any previous August on record, as exceptionally high temperatures pushed up demand for cooling.

According to data from Terna reported by Il Mattino Economia, electricity demand in August 2026 reached 28.9 TWh. That was the highest August level recorded and represented a 16.5% increase compared with August 2025. Terna identified exceptionally high temperatures and increased use of cooling systems as the main drivers of the increase.

What the numbers show

The August 2026 total surpassed the previous August record. In August 2024, Terna reported demand of 27.5 billion kWh, then the highest August consumption recorded, driven by high temperatures, air-conditioning use and services-sector consumption.

Renewable sources covered 41.4% of electricity demand in August 2026, according to the reported figures. Industrial electricity consumption increased by 1.1% year on year in August 2026, a much smaller rise than the 16.5% increase in overall monthly demand.

The available evidence supports a record for the month of August. It does not establish that August 2026 set the highest daily or hourly electricity-demand peak ever recorded.

August in annual perspective

Monthly records can be easier to interpret alongside annual totals. Terna's 2024 statistical summary records annual electricity demand of 311.9 TWh and annual consumption of 292.7 TWh.

That annual context helps explain why a single hot month matters: August 2026 demand of 28.9 TWh represents a substantial share of a typical year's total electricity use, while remaining a monthly figure rather than an annual trend by itself.

Terna's 2024 summary also reports a 41.6% share of renewable sources in gross domestic production for the full year 2024. That is a different annual measure from the August 2026 figure for the share of monthly electricity demand, so the two percentages describe different bases and periods.

What is not yet detailed

The supplied report does not provide a regional breakdown of the August 2026 increase. It also does not quantify how much of the increase came from households, services or particular cooling technologies.

The 41.4% renewable-share figure for August 2026 comes from the supplied article; the retrieved Terna 2026 release page did not expose the full underlying release text, while Terna's release confirms the record August level and the 16.5% increase over 2025.