Angela MacDonald of the Power Smart team, making the pitch for Power Smart's competition for students. (David Pires photo)

Angela MacDonald’s sales pitch doesn’t get any simpler than that.

MacDonald, a member of BC Hydro’s Power Smart team, was roaming Kwantlen’s Richmond campus in blue and orange scuba gear on Wednesday promoting Invent the Future, a new online contest that pays you for your energy conservation ideas.

“We’re here trying to convince people to enter their videos and their essays, and we’re trying to promote conservation,” she said, “because our energy demands are going up 45 per cent by 2020 and our infrastructure is about 50 years old.”

Invent the Future gives B.C. students a shot at a top prize of $2,500 in exchange for a 1,000-word essay or 30- to 60-second video detailing their energy conservation idea.

The goal, according to BC Hydro, is to find ideas that foster energy conservation or discover a “new technology or innovative practice” resulting in increased efficiency.

The contest, open to individuals or teams, ages 13-29, has a second prize of $1,000 and an iPod Touch for the people’s choice in each category.

Anyone can vote for their favorite entry online until Nov. 4, and simply for registering, voters are entered into a draw for four iPod Nano’s.

The deadline for entries is Oct. 31, and more information is available online at www.inventthefuture.ca.