Nov. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Electricite de France SA, Europe’s biggest power producer, moved closer to resolving an antitrust dispute with the European Union after EU regulators proposed changes to long-term electricity contracts.

The European Commission gave customers and competitors until Dec. 4 to comment on EDF’s plan to modify supply contract with a group of France’s biggest electricity users, known as Exeltium. The commitments will become binding and the two-year investigation will be closed if the proposals are accepted, the commission said in a statement today.

EDF “will systematically offer large industrial customers two alternative types of contract, one of which will effectively allow the customer to contract for additional supplies with another supplier,” the commission said in the bloc’s Official Journal.

The commission, the EU’s antitrust regulator, in 2007 accused EDF of using long-term contracts to thwart competitors. The French government had initiated the deals in 2005 to allow industries in France to buy relatively cheap nuclear power.

“EDF intends to help the European Commission find solutions in order to accelerate the deregulation of electricity supply markets in France, while retaining a margin for maneuver that will enable it to respond to the demands of some of its customers for long-term electricity supply offers,” EDF said in a statement today.

EDF said that it would put an average of 65 percent of the volume of electricity it supplies to large industrial customers back on the market for each calendar year starting Jan. 1.

The Paris-based company will ensure that future agreements with industrial customers won’t exceed five years, and the contracts will also allow clients to resell electricity, the commission said.

EDF would be required to submit an annual report on compliance with the commitments to the commission and the French energy regulator until 2021.

To contact the reporter on this story: Matthew Newman in Brussels at Mnewman6@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 4, 2009 06:48 EST