[en] The high energy portion of the electron energy distribution for mixtures of uranium and helium at 1 atm, 5000 K, and a neutron flux of 2 x 1012/sq cm-sec have been calculated. The addition of He improves the heat transport characteristics of the plasma and has the feature that the He energy levels lie in the high energy portion of the electron distribution, potentially allowing non-Maxwellian excitation. It is concluded, however, that the resulting reaction rates are marginal relative to achieving inversion in He