Watts Bar 1 begins Spring 2026 refueling outage

[Core Content]

Watts Bar 1 began its refueling outage on April 18, 2026, one day later than the published schedule of April 17. The unit entered this refueling period following an unscheduled-outage-free streak of 691 days. The current outage follows a 2025 capacity factor of 68.5 percent for the unit.

SPRING CITY, TN — Watts Bar 1 came offline on Apr 18, 2026 for refueling. The published schedule had a Apr 17, 2026 start; actual is 1 day later than planned. Planned outage length is 29 days (back to service around May 16, 2026).

Going into the refueling, the unit had run for about 23 months without an unscheduled outage. NukeWorker's predictive model scores 98% on start-date accuracy for this unit.

Across the U.S. fleet of 94 commercial reactors, today's combined capacity factor is 91.3% (5 currently in refueling), above the 87.0% baseline for this month over the past five years. At the same site, Watts Bar 2 is running at full power. Catawba 1, Saint Lucie 2, Vogtle 3, and Braidwood 2 also began refueling outages within the past week.

Watts Bar 1 is a 1,123-MW Westinghouse 4-loop PWR operated by Tennessee Valley Authority (commercial operation since 1996). At full power, it supplies enough electricity for roughly 898,000 homes. The utility operates 6 other U.S. nuclear units. Its operating license runs through 2035. The unit ran at a 68.5% capacity factor in 2025, with some downtime through the year.

Heading to Spring City, TN for outage work? Current per-diem averages $110/night lodging plus $68/day meals (total $178/day), and Unemployment Benefits are $275 weekly. See open nuclear jobs in Tennessee on NukeWorker.

View Watts Bar 1's ratings, history, predictions, and current status on NukeWorker.

Want the full picture? Subscribe to the NukeWorker outage schedule for every current and upcoming U.S. nuclear outage: refueling, forced, and the 18-month rolling forecast.

Sources: NRC Daily Reactor Power Status reports, utility-published outage schedules, and NukeWorker's predictive model.