A 32°C heatwave was enough to expose Turin’s old power grid

Last updated May 29, 2026

Repeated outages in Turin show how older city grids can become fragile when hotter summers arrive early and electricity demand rises

• Traffic lights went dark in parts of Turin this week as Italy’s first heatwave of the year pushed the city’s electricity network into repeated failure.
• The forecast high in Turin on Thursday was 32°C.
• Iren said the heatwave arrived earlier than expected.
• Longer daylight hours and high temperatures were putting cables under thermal stress.
• At the same time, homes, shops and offices were drawing more electricity for cooling.

Still unclear: What local readers are seeing from the ground

Based on Reuters reporting carried by AOL and WHBL, plus Reuters search excerpts and The Local’s Italy roundup. Core reported details: repeated outages across Turin districts, traffic-light disruption, local utility Iren, around 650,000 electricity customers, cable thermal stress during early heat, a €515 million grid modernisation plan through 2030, and a 32°C forecast during Italy’s first heatwave of the year.