The trickle-away effect

Could it be that the romance with privatisation is leaving the honeymoon period?

the French utility is terminating its 30-year contract a third of the way through. Suez cannot get the concessions to turn a profit - at least not under the terms of its current agreements.

I've still to find out how it is that properly run utilities such as water can be assumed to be run better as private than public organisations: first there's the issue of dividends, then there's the problem of virtual monopoly, reduplication of effort on enforcing standards (the cost of regulation is not generally added to the costs). That's not to say there aren't problems with publically run utilities but in theory, I'd have thought they'd be cheaper; no shareholders to pay.
Business Unlimited | Business latest | The trickle-away effect:Filed in: privatisation, water, Argentina, utilities, economics