Maybe you need a new washing machine. As a case study let's look at a typical streetlight situation. Installing and maintaining streetlights is expensive. To help out, utilities offer lease deals. Communities pay a fee every year, which might include the light, pole, maintenance, and electricity, instead of buying the lights and poles themselves.
Maintenance consists of cleaning the refractor and replacing the lamp after it blows.
These payments go on for 15 years, at the end of which the community owns nothing and must renew the contract to keep the lights lit. Still, the result is a bit of a savings for the community. Light poles, bases, and underground circuits are not included. As you can see it is not energy alone that is the problem. Many communities can't or won't afford the upfront cost to purchase and install the lights themselves.