The 55-year-old Monticello nuclear reactor owned by Xcel Energy was unexpectedly shut down February 20, 2026 to “perform maintenance” and to “determine appropriate repairs,” according to The Monticello Times. The reactor was restarted on April 3 after being offline 43 days.
No Minneapolis, regional, or national news service made mention of the reactor outage in spite of the “over 1 million users” that rely on its electricity (according to Xcel’s website). The reasons for the outage were not made public by the company, which did not name the equipment or sorts of systems that need repair.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission also made no announcement of the shutdown, and its regional Public Affairs Officer Victoria Mitlyng wrote in an email to Nukewatch February 26, “The shutdown at Monticello was a planned maintenance shutdwon (sic) and did not require formal notifications. It’s a routine practice for nuclear plants.” The lack of a public NRC notification may explain why news services made no mention of the shutdown.
According to Xcel spokesperson Theo Keith, who spoke to The Monticello Times, the shutdown “is not related to the tritium leak” from the reactor and made public in 2023. Tritium is the radioactive form of hydrogen, and Mr. Keith’s reference is to the leak of 829,000 gallons of highly radioactive coolant that contaminated groundwater under the reactor site, some of which eventually reached the Mississippi River, a drinking water source for Minneapolis, St. Paul, and millions more downstream.
Xcel explained to the press that the regional electrical power grid draws from multiple generators across the Midwest, and that the mix of providers allows uninterrupted service even when individual systems are taken offline.
Myths Busted by Monticello Reactor Shutdown
Monticello’s unplanned 43-day shutdown debunks two myths endlessly repeated in nuclear propaganda: that it produces electricity 24/7, 365 days a year; and that nuclear’s electricity generation is needed.
First, the myth that nuclear power provides uninterrupted electric generation is boasted about on the Nuclear Energy Institute’s website, where its page-1 slogan is: “Only nuclear has the power to deliver 24/7/365.” But as the NRC’s Mitlyng emailed Nukewatch, “It’s a routine practice” for nuclear reactors to shut down. They are taken offline regularly and repeatedly by emergencies, by unexpected repair work, by refueling outages, and by emergencies and accidents that plague the industry. Historically, major nuclear reactor accidents occur early on following their start up, and late in their operational lives. At 55, Monticello is the sixth oldest of 94 reactors in the United States.
Second, promoters of commercial nuclear reactors say their electricity “is needed to keep the lights on.” This is BS again, as Xcel told the press that it “does not anticipate any impact to electric service while the plant is offline.”
Imagine a nuclear-free Mississippi River watershed. Xcel’s Monticello reactor isn’t needed to keep the lights on, and it’s so old that it can’t operate without major equipment repairs severe enough to gut Xcel’s profit-taking for months at a time.
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