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).