Chief executive Fulvio Conti says that if governments keep levying taxes and drying up cashflows, shareholders will continue to walk away.

Analysts see the utilities sector as incapable of attracting investment after years of recession, with the demand for power declining. “This is true for all of Europe, making the overall energy industry uninvestable,” Conti says.

He claims that subsidies for renewables needlessly raise prices for consumers.

“They