Aren't these monopolies either owned by the municipality or strictly regulated so they can't abuse their monopoly? Monopolies are problematic because it means t

Aren't these monopolies either owned by the municipality or strictly regulated so they can't abuse their monopoly? Monopolies are problematic because it means the usual market mechanisms don't work. If you use regulation to keep prices in check and to ensure quality, monopolies do work for the customer of course. The EU generally prefers to use regulation to artificially create markets though.