Switzerland Releases Water Reserves as Italy's Hydro Reservoirs Hit Record Low
Austrian run-of-river output is down 46% on last summer and Swiss down 26%, leaving Italian reservoirs at record lows during peak summer heat.
Switzerland moved on Wednesday (2026-08-12) to release water reserves to address what Montel described as an "unprecedented" hydro crisis in Italy, an intervention that highlights how severely this summer's drought and heat have degraded generation across the Alpine arc.7
The numbers Montel published Thursday (2026-08-13) establish the severity: run-of-river hydropower generation in Austria has fallen 46% compared with last summer, while Switzerland's equivalent has dropped 26%. Italian reservoirs have reached a record low. Prolonged drought and extreme heat are gripping all three countries at once.8
Italy draws on Alpine hydropower from its own reservoirs and from cross-border electricity imports from Switzerland and Austria. Run-of-river output has fallen steeply in all three supplier countries at once. Switzerland's decision to release water indicates that bilateral coordination is now active, though the volume involved and its likely effect on Italian reservoir levels have not been publicly quantified.7,8
This summer's Alpine strain sits within a wider pattern of European energy system stress. An Oilprice.com report published Thursday (2026-08-06) documented how extreme heat and drought were cutting cooling efficiency at refineries across the continent, forcing curtailments at nuclear plants along low rivers, and raising inland transport costs as barges carried reduced loads.6
Italy's energy cost pressures had been building for months before the hydro situation reached this point. On Thursday (2026-05-21), Meloni wrote to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen calling for EU intervention to address what she described as an "extraordinary increase" in energy costs. The Commission subsequently urged member states, on Thursday (2026-05-28), to repurpose up to EUR 20 billion in existing EU funds, including the Just Transition Fund, toward the energy crisis.1,2
Brussels later approved two major Italian packages. Rome secured acceptance for a EUR 14 billion plan to ease energy costs over three years, with Meloni announcing the approval on Wednesday (2026-06-03).3
On Tuesday (2026-06-09), the EC separately authorized a EUR 23 billion Italian state aid scheme for renewable energy covering wind, solar, hydro and sewer gas projects. The package is designed to add 37.15 gigawatts of generation capacity — roughly 48% of Italy's current renewable base — with projects above 1 megawatt allocated through competitive bidding under the Clean Industrial Deal State Aid Framework. Italy is targeting a 39.4% renewable share of gross final energy consumption by end of decade.4,5
Neither commitment resolves Italy's supply position this summer. The EUR 23 billion scheme delivers capacity over years. The EUR 14 billion cost-relief package helps consumers manage bills; it does not add generation to a grid running on record-low reservoir storage.3,4
ICE Endex TTF front-month closed Sunday (2026-08-16) at €61.38 per megawatt-hour, and German front-month power was at €134.87 per megawatt-hour on the same date.
Austria's 46% year-on-year collapse in run-of-river output is the steepest figure in Montel's analysis. Run-of-river generation cannot be stored. If drought conditions persist into September, Italian reservoirs will head into the autumn demand season at already-depleted levels, compressing the supply buffer as heating load builds. The volume of water Switzerland has released, and whether it is sufficient to materially lift Italian storage, has not been disclosed.8