What’s better than lowering your electric bill? Student Government thinks getting paid to do it is a start.

Student Government recently allocated more than $1,000 to fund what students feel is a valuable enterprise – a competition to save energy.

The competition, UTD Unplugged, is open to all students living in apartments on or off-campus. Winners will walk away with Visa gift cards ranging from $75 to $200.

The competition, advocated for by the Sustainability Subcommittee, is meant to encourage students to be more aware of how much energy they are using and to bring that usage (and their electricity bills) down.

“I’m excited to work with my new roommates as a team to win and make difference at UTD,” says Saskia Versteeg, a sophomore physics major. Saskia, like other UTD students, registered for the contest online at sg.utdallas.edu/unplugged. Registration is also accessible by visiting Student Government’s main website.

Once registration closes, Student Government will collect copies of electricity bills to determine the percentage each apartment reduces its electricity consumption between October and December. Winners will be announced in January.

Students living in Phases 1-7 and off-campus must register by Wednesday, Sept. 22. Residents in Phases 8-9 must register by Oct. 22.