The Northeast Power Coordinating Council, Inc (NPCC) reports that electricity resources across its footprint are expected to be adequate to meet demand during the upcoming 2025–2026 winter season, according to its latest winter reliability outlook. NPCC’s area of responsibility includes New York, the six New England states, Ontario, Québec, and the Canadian Maritime provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The organization anticipates a region-wide coincident peak load of approximately 112,810 megawatts, projected to occur during the week of January 18, 2026. This forecast is modestly higher than the prior winter’s estimate.
To support this demand, about 161,426 megawatts of installed generation capacity are expected to be available. After considering transmission limitations, NPCC estimates that surplus operable capacity—above required reserves—will range between roughly 15,500 and 25,200 megawatts throughout the winter months.
Resource adequacy assessments indicate that New England, New York, Ontario, and Québec each have sufficient supply to meet expected winter loads. In the Maritime provinces, only limited reliance on operating procedures is anticipated. The assessment evaluated a broad set of scenarios, including elevated demand conditions, unexpected generation outages, transmission constraints, and reduced interregional transfer capability.
“NPCC’s winter reliability review provides important information to system planners and operators across the region,” said Charles Dickerson, President and Chief Executive Officer of NPCC. “While conditions point to sufficient supply, established operating procedures remain in place to safeguard reliability should extreme weather or additional resource outages occur.”
NPCC also emphasized the importance of ongoing coordination and communication among system operators and neighboring regions to enhance situational awareness, reduce risk, and maintain reliable operations.
“The completion of key transmission upgrades continues to strengthen regional reliability,” said Phil Fedora, NPCC Chief Engineer and Senior Vice President of External Affairs. “One notable example is the New England Clean Energy Connect, which is expected to be operational this winter and capable of delivering up to 1,200 megawatts of power from Québec into New England.” The full Winter 2025–2026 Reliability Assessment is available on NPCC’s website.
The Northeast Power Coordinating Council, Inc. is one of six Regional Entities working with the North American Electric Reliability Corporation to ensure the reliability, resilience, and security of the bulk power system across North America. NPCC’s territory spans nearly 1.2 million square miles and serves approximately 62 million people across the northeastern United States and eastern Canada.
NPCC fulfills its mission through regional reliability standards development, compliance monitoring and enforcement, coordinated system planning and operations, and the establishment and oversight of region-specific reliability criteria.
