Who pays for the street lights?

By Value hunter on Nov 8, 2009 | In In real life, Wondering

Just outside having a smoke after tea, working out in my head how much the washing and drying costs the family each year and trying to think of ways to cut the cost back, when I looked up the hill and saw the street lights on all up the road, and on the road running across the hill that towers over our estate.

Who pays to power our street lamps?

We are sold "greener" appliances, which now cost more than the standard model, we are told to "save energy in the home" - whilst the more we save, the higher the prices go, etc.
Yet we have street lights on for 14 hours or so a night, lighting up areas where hardly any cars go let alone people.

A visit to any neighbourhood hills, looking out over the valley where we live, shows the whole town lit up and further in the distance as well.
Now imagine this on a national scale, all over the country!
That's some energy the country's wasting, so why is the onus to save always on us, the individuals?