Energy Information Administration · · Revised 85 series
US nuclear outages fall to 16.0 GW on Nov 12 as fall refuelling passes its peak
US nuclear capacity offline fell to 16,008 megawatts (MW) on Nov 12, from a peak of 20,248 MW on Nov 4. More reactors coming back from fall refuelling should mean somewhat less gas burned for power.
A data update from FactIQ, written from Energy Information Administration figures. What is FactIQ?
Key figures
- US nuclear capacity offline, Nov 12
- 16,008 MWdown from a peak of 20,248 MW on Nov 42026-09-262026-11-12U.S. Daily Nuclear Capacity Outage
- US nuclear capacity offline, autumn peak, Nov 4
- 20,248 MW19,297 MW on Nov 72026-09-262026-11-12U.S. Daily Nuclear Capacity Outage
- Palisades nuclear plant capacity offline
- 815.6 MWequal to its full capacity every day of the past 40 days2026-09-262026-11-12Daily Nuclear Generating Capacity Outage at Palisades
- Lower 48 states peak hourly electricity demand, Nov 12 (UTC)
- 493k MWhafter about 490k on Nov 112026-11-102026-11-12Hourly Electricity Demand for the Lower 48 United States (UTC Time)
About 4.2 gigawatts of nuclear capacity came back in one week
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) publishes daily nuclear capacity outage figures. They show how much US reactor generating capacity is offline each day. When reactors are offline, other power plants, such as gas plants, have to make up the difference.
- Nov 4: 20,248 megawatts (MW) offline, the peak
- Nov 7: 19,297 MW offline
- Nov 12: 16,008 MW offline
About 4.2 gigawatts (GW) returned over the past week. Total US nuclear capacity was unchanged at 100,057 MW. Roughly 84% of the fleet is now available.
Outages are still high compared with the summer
Outages fell to a low of about 1,000 MW in late July. They rose through September and October as plants shut down for fall refuelling. That refuelling season now looks past its peak.
Palisades in Michigan is still completely offline
The Palisades plant is listed as fully out of service. On each of the past 40 days, its outage has equalled its full capacity of 815.6 MW.
Electricity demand was normal for mid-November
Hourly electricity demand in the Lower 48 states, meaning the contiguous United States, peaked near 493k megawatthours (MWh). That peak came at the start of Nov 12 in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). On Nov 11 the peak was about 490k MWh.
Source: Energy Information Administration. See all EIA data in FactIQ.