McGuire 1 completes Fall refueling outage in 29 days

[Core Content]

McGuire 1, Huntersville, North Carolina.

McGuire 1 began a routine refueling outage on September 5, 2026, concluding after 29 days on October 3. The fall maintenance window ran one day longer than the planned 28 day schedule.

Operated by Duke Energy Carolinas, the 1,158-MW Westinghouse pressurized water reactor maintained an unscheduled-outage-free streak of 246 days before the project. The duration ranked as the 13th-longest among the unit's 19 tracked refuels, falling below the historical average of 37.6 days for its 18 prior refuels. Across the broader U.S. fleet, 94 units operated at an 85.2 percent capacity factor while four other reactors remained in outages.

29 days outage · 1 day past schedule · 1,158 MW back online

McGuire 1 completed its Fall 2026 refueling outage on Oct 3, 2026, returning to service after 29 days. The outage began on Sep 5, 2026.

The published schedule had it at 28 days (Sep 5, 2026 to Oct 3, 2026), so the actual ran 1 day longer than planned.

The outage ran about 9 days shorter than the unit's 18-cycle average of 37.6 days. NukeWorker's duration projection scores 97% accuracy for this unit.

The 29-day outage removed roughly 741,000 MWh from the grid, worth approximately $30 million at recent wholesale prices, equivalent to a year's electricity for about 69,000 homes.

Across the U.S. fleet of 94 commercial reactors, today's combined capacity factor is 85.2% (12 units currently refueling, 1 unit in an unscheduled outage), above the 81.8% baseline for this month over the past five years. At the same site, McGuire 2 is running at full power. FitzPatrick, Callaway, Byron 2, and Cooper also completed refueling outages within the past week.

McGuire 1 is a 1,158-MW Westinghouse 4-loop PWR operated by Duke Energy Carolinas (commercial operation since 1981). At full power, it supplies enough electricity for roughly 926,000 homes. The utility operates 6 other U.S. nuclear units. Its operating license runs through 2041 (renewed in 2003). The unit ran at a 92.6% capacity factor in 2025, a solid year of operation.

View McGuire 1'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.