By Benjamin Mallet

PARIS, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Henri Proglio, due to become the new head of France's main electricity provider EDF, is not planning a full merger between EDF and rival utility Veolia , politicians who questioned Proglio said on Tuesday.
Politician Patrick Ollier told journalists that Proglio had been "quite clear" on this topic.
"A merger between the two companies is definitely not on the agenda," said Ollier, who heads up an economic affairs committee at France's lower house of parliament.
Proglio is currently still the head of French utility Veolia Environnement but is set to take up the top job at state-controlled EDF within a matter of weeks.
Proglio faced questions from a panel of politicians at France's lower house of parliament late on Tuesday. The hearing was not open to the public and Proglio himself declined to tell reporters about what he had said at the hearing.
EDF currently has a stake of around 4 percent in Veolia, and a source close to Veolia's board told Reuters in September that EDF could raise its Veolia stake to up to 15 percent. EDF and Veolia already have a joint venture through their Dalkia energy services business.
Earlier this month, Veolia said Proglio would stay on as Veolia non-executive chairman if he took up the top job at EDF, as is widely expected.
However, politicians present at Tuesday's hearing with Proglio said it appeared that Proglio's dual EDF/Veolia role would be a temporary one, and that Proglio would eventually concentrate full time on running EDF.
"I was under the impression that this dual function of his would be for a temporary period," said Francois Brottes, who handles matters relating to the energy sector for France's opposition Socialist Party.
The French state owns more than 80 percent of EDF's share capital.
EDF shares closed down 0.4 percent at 39.63 euros on Tuesday, giving the company a market capitalisation of around 72 billion euros. Keywords: EDF/

(sudip.kargupta@reuters.com; +33 1 49 49 54 52; Reuters Messaging:sudip.kargupta.reuters.com@reuters.net )

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