In Italy, electricity is sold in a  much different way than we experience in the US. 

My experience as a residential consumer in the US is that electricity is a product of a monopoly that is regulated/protected (choose your own verb) by state (and local?) governments. For instance, a rate hike by your local electric company (or gas) must be reviewed and approved by your state legislature. As if! Which leads me to ask -- who benefits from your electricity being delivered to you by a monopoly which is regulated by politicians? 

It Italy, electricity is sold to individuals by "brokers". These brokers offer different plans and special deals to the consumer, to entice them to sign up with that broker. Once you sign up, the electricity you use in your house, as measured by your meter, is billed to you at the rate from your plan through the broker you chose. Think of it like your mobile phone plan. (You can then pay for it online, or at your local tabaccheria, which is a totally different discussion!)

This is very confusing to me, because I can't get beyond the "but how does the electricity get to your meter?" question. I guess all the electricity is in a big pool, and all flows along the same lines, and then the brokers pay the "pool" per unit sold at a general rate.... I guess the gamble is "how much and when will X house use?"

Because, YES, apparently WHEN it's used is a BFD. Late night electricity will be billed to the consumer at a different rate than midday electricity. 

And Europeans take the conservation of electricity (and all utilities and resources) very seriously. Many public service commercials on TV show oafs leaving the light on when they leave a room, leaving the fridge door open while they pour juice, leaving the water running while he brushes his teeth. Oaf-ness is not tolerated in Europe! 

SO, in my apartment for instance, I have my own water heater (rare for a tall building -- usually they have a boiler servicing the entire building) and it has an On / Off switch on the wall nearby... so I can turn off the water heater during times when I won't be needing instant hot water. And perhaps I can schedule my laundry during periods which are most beneficial to my electricity plan.

And so back to the original point -- who benefits from your electricity being delivered to you by a monopoly which is regulated by politicians?