ABSTRACT
Large, complex networks provide goods and services. Today, these networks fully cover the industrialized countries, even though they started out as local networks in cities. Utilities provide some of the goods and services that serve the basic needs of households and commerce. For example, electricity supply and drinking water are usually referred to as utility sectors. In terms of economic analysis, these functions used to be regarded as “natural monopolies” and therefore were run as public services. Besides these natural monopolies, some other services were for a very long time also provided by utilities. Public utilities were also found in housing, transport and communication sectors. The authorities that managed these huge infrastructures were often public bodies.
