US nuclear outages, Oct 22, 2026: 19.73% of capacity offline in refueling season
US nuclear plant outages were 19,736 megawatts (MW) on Oct 22, or 19.73% of capacity, as fall refueling peaks. More power has to come from gas plants as eastern weather turns colder.
A data update from FactIQ, written from Energy Information Administration figures. What is FactIQ?
Key figures
- US nuclear generating capacity offline, Oct 22, 2026
- 19,736 MWjust below 19,936 MW on Oct 212026-09-052026-10-22U.S. Daily Nuclear Capacity Outage
- Share of US nuclear capacity offline, Oct 22, 2026
- 19.73%up from 7.7% on Sep 252026-09-052026-10-22U.S. Nuclear Power Plant Capacity Percentage Outage (Daily)
- US nuclear power capacity from Oct 1, 2026
- 100,056.7 MWup from 97,620.5 MW2026-09-052026-10-22U.S. Nuclear Power Capacity
- Peak hourly electricity demand, Lower 48 states, Oct 21, 2026
- 504,361 MWh2026-10-202026-10-22Hourly Electricity Demand for the Lower 48 United States (UTC Time)
Nuclear outages have more than doubled in four weeks
Nuclear capacity outages measure how much reactor generating capacity is offline for refueling, maintenance or other reasons. When fewer reactors run, other plants, mainly gas plants, must fill the gap. Outages were 19,736 megawatts (MW) on Oct 22. That is just below 19,936 MW on Oct 21. Outages were about 7,545 MW (7.7%) on Sep 25 and about 15 gigawatts (GW) in early October. They then jumped to about 19.8 GW from Oct 12.Fall refueling season is taking close to a fifth of the reactor fleet offline
Refueling season is at its peak. As a result, more gas will be burned as forecasts for the eastern US turn colder. The Palisades plant is counted in capacity at 815.6 MW. It is still shown as fully out, so it is not adding output yet.National nuclear capacity rose on Oct 1 because of new ratings, not new reactors
US nuclear power capacity stepped up on Oct 1 from 97,620.5 MW to 100,056.7 MW, an increase of about 2.4 GW. Individual plants rose by similar percentages. For example, Browns Ferry went from 3,661.7 to 3,755.8 MW. This pattern points to a switch to capacity ratings for cooler weather.Lower 48 electricity demand peaked on Oct 21
Hourly electricity demand in the Lower 48 states, which excludes Alaska and Hawaii, peaked at about 504,361 megawatthours (MWh) on Oct 21. Reports that arrived late raised demand in some Oct 21 hours by about 5,000 MWh. Nevada Power's electricity generation for Oct 21 was revised up from early figures. In one example, it went from 2,674 to 4,057 MWh.Source: Energy Information Administration. See all EIA data in FactIQ.
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More from EIA
- US nuclear outages reach 19,936 MW on Oct 21 as fall refuelling peaksOctober 21, 2026
- US Lower 48 power demand peaks at 498,372 MWh, above forecast, as gas output jumpsOctober 21, 2026
- US nuclear outages hold at 19,860 MW on October 20, 2026, near the fall peakOctober 20, 2026
- Gulf crude output recovers in June 2026 but stays far below FebruaryOctober 19, 2026