Particularly when it comes to power generation and distribution, it already is. Private companies are generally best at providing something as cheaply as possible while generating the maximum short term profits. Enron gamed the system and bilked us California ratepayers out of billions of excess dollars while we suffered from some real but also some artificially created blackouts and brownouts.


Just a couple days ago, I caught the tail end of a documentary on the local PBS station. It was something about CalTech's basketball team. I think it was about the story of how a coach took these incredibly bright and hardworking student athletes and turned the team from being an utter laughingstock to actually almost winning their final game of the season. At the end of the program, they mention where each of the team members went after graduation. I was personally dismayed to discover that every team member except one ended up on Wall St, although I have seen the same phenomenon myself. As we are experiencing now, having the best and the brightest in the financial services sector doesn't guarantee safety and stability of anything unless there is an incentive or regulation and also robust enforcement and oversight. Or look back to the S&L crisis for another example of an industry loaded with really smart people.

Or more on topic, remember the massive Northest Blackout of 2003? Privatization didn't help any of these utilities prepare for that situation, particularly when it comes to coordinating with their neighboring utilities. "Private" means you look out for yourself and divulging information about your operations is a big no-no because it could give a competitive advantage to another private company.