By Jim Collura, NEFI President & CEO

This winter will go down as one of the most consequential in a long time, and our industry’s contributions must not be lost in the noise.

The winter of 2025–26 will be remembered as one of the coldest winters in at least a decade. It tested our industry from the Northeast to the Midwest, the Mid-Atlantic down to the Carolinas, and up and down the supply chain. The cold snap lasted through January and February, stretched across nearly 40 states, and affected more than 200 million Americans. This period was capped by Storms Fern and Hernando, which both buried parts of our region under more than two feet of snow. Numerous records were broken, and probably a few thermostats along the way.

Most of all, it will be remembered for what it revealed about our energy system, and for the hardworking professionals across our industry who held it all together.

Service technicians answered no-heat calls at all hours in subzero cold. Drivers fought unplowed, icy roads to make deliveries when product went on allocation and terminal waits stretched for hours. Wholesalers and terminal operators worked to keep supply moving and manufacturers and distributors rushed parts and equipment to meet surging demand. Business owners and managers made hard calls to keep operations running.

These are heroes. Maybe not the kind who make the evening news or grace the covers of comic books, but the kind who make sure families are safe and warm in their homes.

Early February brought the highest average electricity demand to New England since 2015. When natural gas prices surged and supply tightened, petroleum became the predominant source of electricity for nearly two straight days, supplying roughly 40% of the region’s power at peak. Even the new Clean Energy Connect transmission line from Hydro-Québec could not deliver, as Quebec needed its own power to deal with the record cold. At the end of the day, it was the liquid fuels industry that kept the lights on.

This winter tells a powerful story and issues a warning. Look no further than NERC’s 2025 Long-Term Reliability Assessment, which projects winter peak demand will surge by 245 gigawatts over the next decade, even as dispatchable generation keeps retiring.

So, if anyone dares call your business outdated or “a relic to be phased out,” remind them of this winter. Remind them of every gallon of heating fuel delivered when needed most, every high-efficiency system installed, and every home weatherized. You did not just keep families warm; you kept the system from buckling and the grid from going dark.

That is not the story of a dying industry. That is the story of an essential one. The path to a more reliable, affordable, and more resilient energy future does not run through the electric grid or a natural gas pipeline. It runs through our trucks, our tanks, and the people who make it all work.

To every member of this industry: thank you. You matter now more than ever.