Uranium producer Eurodif is in on-going negotiations with state-backed power generation group Electricité de France (EdF) over terms for power supply. The negotiations come as Eurodif’s existing power supply contract comes up for renewal and widely reported suggestions that EdF is pushing the price up by as much as 130%.

Eurodif, which is owned by Areva, operates the Georges Besse gaseous diffusion plant for uranium enrichment in Pierrelatte in south-eastern France, the country’s largest industrial electricity consumer.

Areva is working on Georges Besse 2 (GBII), a new enrichment plant based on centrifuge technology that is far more efficient in terms of electricity consumption per unit of enriched uranium. GBII is expected to begin operating in 2009.

Areva investment certificates fell on the market following the power price hike reports.