Receiving and paying your bills electronically is not only more convenient, but also better for the environment.

According to the PayItGreen Alliance, a coalition of financial services companies promoting the environmental benefits of electronic billing and payment, by switching from paper bills and using direct deposit, each year the average household can:

• Save 6.6 pounds of paper
• Save 0.079 trees
• Avoid use of 4.5 gallons of gasoline to mail bills and payments
• Avoid producing 171 pounds of greenhouse gases

If you’re concerned about the safety of online transactions, the alliance points out that most identity theft cases come from paper transactions such as lost checkbooks and stolen mail.

To get your Jackson EMC bill by e-mail, go to your account profile and select the “Paperless Billing” option. If you don’t have an account profile, you can create one by going to the “Your Account” section and clicking on “Access Your Account Online.”