Southwest Airlines has been the most successful U.S. carrier under deregulation. And smaller airlines are flourishing in Europe and Asia. Technology keeps moving on. Improved transmission technology allows electricity to be sent over long distances with less power loss. Gas-turbine generators allow for smaller power plants to be built at less cost.
Capital is more widely available to finance electric power.
The need for local monopolies to control the resource has given way to the need for competition. Britain deregulated in 1990, using a central auction pool to set prices. That was the model for California's system, begun in 1998. But Britain is now abandoning its auction pool because it was subject to abuses. It is setting up a system that invites competition.