The heatwave that blasted Italy has put a strain on air conditioning, fans, and massive ventilation systems. Energy usage rose in June, reaching its highest level in ten years. Terna, the firm in charge of managing the national transmission grid, reports that power demand climbed by 1.8% in July compared to the same month in 2025, marking the tenth consecutive month of rise. Industrial consumption is also rising: according to the index, which evaluates a sample of about 1,000 energy-intensive enterprises, the figure for June grew by 3.1%. The growth was most noticeable in the steel, ceramics and glass, paper, and transportation industries. In the first half of 2026, there was also a large growth in photovoltaic (+19.2%) and wind (+16.4%) production compared to the previous year. Renewable sources accounted for 47% of national electricity demand, up from 49.5% the previous year.