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Energy demand forecasting is crucial for maintaining stable and affordable energy supplies, especially for vulnerable populations most affected by shortages and high costs. In the Netherlands, transmission system operator TenneT has raised concerns about potential electricity shortages by 2030. Rising energy prices and the impact of climate change on the energy demand further complicate today's energy market. Policymakers lack clear insights into demand patterns, which complicates the optimization of energy use and the protection of at-risk communities. Accurate and timely forecasts are essential for addressing these issues and supporting sustainable energy management. This research focuses on enhancing the accuracy and lead time of wintertime energy demand forecasts in the Netherlands using advanced machine learning. The ensemble model Prophet-LSTM is trained on hourly load consumption data combined with climate change-related and energy price predictors. The results demonstrate significant improvements over baseline models, achieving a Pearson correlation coefficient of r = 0.93 compared to r = 0.50 in prior studies, as well as accurate forecasts up to 180 days ahead, compared to 2 months. Incorporating climate change-related predictors is challenging due to multicollinearity, highlighting the importance of careful predictor selection. Including energy price predictors yielded modest yet hopeful results, suggesting their ability to optimize energy demand forecasting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]