Sequoyah 2 begins Fall 2026 refueling outage

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Sequoyah 2, Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee.

Tennessee Valley Authority began a routine refueling outage at Sequoyah Unit 2 on October 3, 2026. The fall refueling started one day later than its scheduled October 2 start date with a planned duration of 29 days.

Prior to the shutdown, the 1,126-MW Westinghouse pressurized water reactor maintained an unscheduled-outage-free streak of 329 days after completing roughly 90 percent of its typical 557-day operating cycle. Its operator, Tennessee Valley Authority, manages six other nuclear units nationwide. Across the broader fleet, 94 units operated at an 85.2 percent capacity factor, with 12 reactors currently in refueling outages.

SODDY-DAISY, TN. Refueling activities began at Sequoyah 2 on Oct 3, 2026. The published schedule had a Oct 2, 2026 start; actual is 1 day later than planned. Planned outage length is 29 days (back to service around Oct 31, 2026).

NukeWorker's start-date projection scores 99% accuracy for this unit.

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, Sequoyah 1 is running at full power. Palo Verde 1, Prairie Island 1, Robinson 2, and Salem 1 also began refueling outages within the past week. With the unit offline for refueling, that takes about 901,000 homes' worth of generation off the grid.

Sequoyah 2 is a 1,126-MW Westinghouse 4-loop PWR operated by Tennessee Valley Authority (commercial operation since 1982). The utility operates 6 other U.S. nuclear units. Its operating license runs through 2041 (renewed in 2015). The unit ran at a 49.6% capacity factor in 2025, with some downtime through the year.

Heading to Soddy-Daisy, TN for outage work? Current per-diem averages $113/night lodging plus $68/day meals (total $181/day), and Unemployment Benefits are $275 weekly. See open nuclear jobs in Tennessee on NukeWorker.

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

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Sequoyah 2's reactor is critical: the NRC's Nov 3, 2026 report shows it at 6% power in Mode 1, the first reading above zero since its Fall 2026 refueling outage began on Oct 3, 2026.

NRC daily power since restart: Nov 3 6%

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

Source: NRC Daily Reactor Power Status reports.

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Sequoyah 2 reached full power, 99%, in the NRC's Nov 5, 2026 report, 2 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 4 days.

NRC daily power since restart: Nov 3 6% · Nov 4 45% · Nov 5 99%

The outage in full: Sequoyah 2 completes Fall refueling outage in 31 days.

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

Source: NRC Daily Reactor Power Status reports.