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15 January 2007 - French utility EDF is on the verge of signing an agreement with major industrial manufacturers, including steel and aluminium suppliers, to guarantee long-term supply of electricity at below-market prices.
A local report claims the manufacturers have joined together to form a consortium, Exeltium, and initially launched a call for tenders in spring 2006. The first offers received were deemed inadequate, both in terms of price and volume, and Exeltium has since been in negotiations with EDF to reach an agreement.
A source at the French Finance Ministry, which has been privy to the talks, said that a few key points still needed to be clarified but that a deal was imminent.
Meanwhile, French electric power consumption dropped by one per cent in 2006, the first decline in nine years, after a rise of 0.7 per cent in 2005, power grid manager RTE said.
The decline was due mainly to weather conditions and reduced consumption by large industrial companies. Consumption totalled 478.4 bn kWh, or 4.8 bn less than a year earlier. Adjusted for climatic effects, the decline was 0.2 per cent.
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