Abel Mateus was testifying to a parliamentary committee of inquiry on "excessive rents" in the energy sector. At the end of his initial statement, he argued for the need to reduce the degree to which the public subsidises generators.

"In the electricity sector consumers already bear a surcharge of around twenty three billion euros," he said.

That is on top of the €25 billion that taxpayers "have already been called on to contribute" to bolster the country's banks in the wake of the global financial crash and euro crisis that followed.

"The reduction of this burden [of payments to electricity companies] is the challenge that faces this parliament," he said