Vogtle 2 begins Fall 2026 refueling outage

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Vogtle 2, Waynesboro, Georgia.

Georgia Power began a routine refueling outage at Vogtle 2 on September 13, 2026. The 1,152-MW Westinghouse pressurized water reactor entered the maintenance window exactly on its scheduled start date with a planned 43-day duration.

Going into this event, the unit maintained an 813-day unscheduled-outage-free streak and had completed roughly 97 percent of its typical 547-day operating cycle. Georgia Power operates five other nuclear units, while the broader U.S. fleet operates at a 92.4 percent capacity factor with six total reactors currently offline. Vogtle 2 recorded a 92 percent capacity factor during its 2025 cycle, operating with a historical 28-day average duration across 18 prior refuels.

WAYNESBORO, GA. Vogtle 2 came offline on Sep 13, 2026 for refueling. The unit started on the published date (Sep 13, 2026) with a planned 43-day outage running through Oct 26, 2026.

Going into the refueling, the unit had run for more than 2 years without an unscheduled outage. NukeWorker's start-date projection scores 100% accuracy for this unit.

Across the U.S. fleet of 94 commercial reactors, today's combined capacity factor is 92.4% (5 units currently refueling, 1 unit in an unscheduled outage), below the 92.8% baseline for this month over the past five years. At the same site, Vogtle 1, Vogtle 3, and Vogtle 4 are all running at full power. Browns Ferry 1 and FitzPatrick also began refueling outages within the past week. With the unit offline for refueling, that takes about 922,000 homes' worth of generation off the grid.

Vogtle 2 is a 1,152-MW Westinghouse 4-loop PWR operated by Georgia Power (commercial operation since 1989). The utility operates 5 other U.S. nuclear units. Its operating license runs through 2049 (renewed in 2009). The unit ran at a 92.0% capacity factor in 2025, a solid year of operation.

Heading to Waynesboro, GA for outage work? Current per-diem averages $110/night lodging plus $68/day meals (total $178/day), and Unemployment Benefits are $365 weekly. See open nuclear jobs in Georgia on NukeWorker.

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