The case for granting investor-owned utilities a monopoly franchise on the provision of electric service in a specific geographic territory has eroded considerably over the past half century and is now entering a phase of systemic collapse.

FORBES: America's Other Energy Revolution And Why It Matters

Deutsche Post, for example, was fined by the European Commission in 2001 for abusing its monopoly by allowing its global parcels business to receive big subsidies from its letters franchise.

ECONOMIST: Post offices