If you have an old fridge or freezer wasting space and energy in your home, Manitoba Hydro will pay to take it off your hands.

The Power Smart Refrigerator Retirement Program is paying Hydro customers $40 for working refrigerators 15 years old or older. They'll even come pick it up for free.

Manitoba Hydro said it hopes the service will reduce energy wasted by the more than 194,000 inefficient fridges and freezers in Manitoba. Hydro said these appliances are often used as second fridges for beverages or excess groceries in homes or garages, and are often mostly empty. It can cost more than $100 per year to run an old, inefficient fridge, Hydro said.

Over the next 2.5 years, the program hopes to remove 35,000 fridges and freezers. This would reduce the province's energy consumption by the amount of electricity needed to power a town the size of Neepawa for one year, said Hydro.

To participate, call 1-855-537-4343 or visit Hydro's website to book an appointment. Each household can give up a maximum of three appliances. The first item must be a fridge, but the second and third can be fridges and/or freezers.