While New England remains a summer peaking electricity system (with a
forecasted 2018 summer peak around 25 percent higher than the
forecasted 2018/2019 winter peak), winter peak
forecasts are important for assessing the impacts of electric system reliability
during a
period when much of New England's energy infrastructure is dedicated to space heating (
i.e., when interstate natural gas pipelines are used both for electricity generation and for heating homes and businesses).