Vogtle 2 begins Fall 2026 refueling outage

[Core Content]

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.

View Vogtle 2's ratings, history, projections, and current status on NukeWorker.

Want the full picture? Subscribe to the NukeWorker outage schedule for every current and upcoming U.S. nuclear outage.

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

[Core Content]

Vogtle 2's reactor is critical: the NRC's Oct 23, 2026 report shows it at 2% power in Mode 2, the first reading above zero since its Fall 2026 refueling outage began on Sep 13, 2026.

NRC daily power since restart: Oct 23 2%

View Vogtle 2's ratings, history, projections, and current status on NukeWorker.

Source: NRC Daily Reactor Power Status reports.

[Core Content]

Vogtle 2 reached 45% power in the NRC's Oct 24, 2026 report, putting the reactor in Mode 1, 1 day after its first reading above zero on Oct 23, 2026. By the NRC's Oct 25, 2026 report it was back on the grid at 79% power, more steam than its condenser steam dumps can take, so the main generator is on line. It reached full power, 98%, in the NRC's Oct 26, 2026 report, 3 days after its first reading above zero, completing power ascension from its Fall 2026 refueling outage. Over its last 6 refuels the climb from first power to full power took a median of 3 days.

NRC daily power since restart: Oct 23 2% · Oct 24 45% · Oct 25 79% · Oct 26 98%

The outage in full: Vogtle 2 completes Fall refuel in 40 days, caps 529-day B2B run.

View Vogtle 2's ratings, history, projections, and current status on NukeWorker.

Source: NRC Daily Reactor Power Status reports.