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@EdwardZ
In the case of public utilities "free market" has consistently shown itself to be neither "free" nor "efficient". I refer the reader to the experience of the US with, at first, the electric power holding cartels, then the period after passing the Federal Power Act of 1935 up through the 1970s when the tide started to turn towards deregulation. Before "deregulation" the electric power industry did quite well in the US. Public utilities were considered "gold standard" and the price for electricity saw declines in response to improvements in technolgy and efficiency. The "free market" mindset gone wild eventually brought the Americans the Energy Policy Act which opened access to the networks to non utilities. This has led not just to a shift in the ownership of electricity generation to investor owned but also to rises in prices and a decline in standards. Y2K fears got quickly replaced by brown and black outs. In California electricity prices rose over 1/3 since 2006. Should natural gas prices start to rise--- currently at record low prices in the US--- prices will literally skyrocket!