Russia to sell uranium directly to U.S. utilities

MOSCOW, May 26 (Reuters) - Russia's state uranium trader said on Tuesday it would sign a landmark deal to supply uranium directly to U.S. utilities, including PG&E Corp (PCG.N), from 2014.

Russia's Techsnabexport (Tenex) said it would sign the deal on Tuesday with a structure partly created by Californian utility Pacific Gas and Electric Co, a unit of PG&E Corp (PCG.N), and two other partners, which were not identified.

"The contract we are signing today comes into force immediately," Tenex CEO Anatoly Grigoryev told reporters. "Supplies will start from 2014."

Russia, one of the world's biggest sellers of uranium enrichment services, currently sells the United States only uranium recovered from dismantled Russian nuclear weapons under a programme known as "megatons to megawatts".

Those sales are carried out through U.S. uranium trader USEC Inc (USU.N).

All other sales of uranium to U.S. companies have been subject to U.S. anti-dumping measures but Moscow and Washington signed a deal last year to allow direct sales to other U.S. firms.

Tenex is a unit of Russia's state atomic company, Atomenergoprom, one of the world's biggest players on the nuclear market. (Reporting by Simon Shuster, writing by Guy Faulconbridge, editing by Anthony Barker)