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Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Nuclear Power Generation: Capacity Factor Continues Below 2015 Level by 1.5%

Nuclear power output rose slightly over the last week, to 95.3% of rated capacity today.  Thus it sits 1.5% below 2015 as of December 27th:



The impact, in terms of natural gas demand offset, is roughly 0.3 BCFD, so slightly more natural gas is being consumed than last year, and the difference is likely to be small through the winter, with most refueling complete for the season.  But the difference is meaningful in comparison to November, when 2016 capacity factors were much above 2015, and gas demand was suppressed to the tune of 1 BCFD average for the month: