UK, EDF say talks continue over nuclear strike price

LONDON (Reuters) - Talks between the British government and France's EDF over financial terms for building a new nuclear plant at Hinkley Point in Somerset are continuing, the two parties said on Thursday. "No agreement has as yet been reached," a senior press officer at the Department for Energy and Climate Change said. "A contract will only be offered if it's value for money, fair and affordable, in line with government policy on no public subsidy for new nuclear and consistent with state aid rules," the press officer said. EDF declined to give further details. The government and EDF have been negotiating for more than one year about fixing a minimum electricity price for power generated at the proposed plant as part of a new energy policy package that aims to reward forms of energy with low carbon emissions. The reform package is pending state aid approval from the European Commission. The EU's executive on Tuesday decided to drop a reference to subsidies for nuclear power plants in new state aid guidelines due to be published next month. A reference to nuclear state aid would have helped Britain's case to support nuclear power, but the government insisted on Wednesday the move would not jeopardise its nuclear new build ambitions. (Reporting by Nina Chestney and John McGarrity; Writing by Karolin Schaps; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)