After Growing Greener II’s success, the governor might get this one passed.

Gov. Rendell yesterday proposed a new fee on the sale of electricity in Pennsylvania to help finance a wide-ranging plan to promote alternative energy sources, increase conservation, and blunt expected increases in utility bills in the coming years.

Money generated by the fee would be used to pay off a bond issue Rendell wants to use to create an $850 million Energy Independence Fund, which is the core of his energy initiative, administration officials said. The bond issue would require legislative and voter approval.

The per-kilowatt-hour fee would amount to about $5 a year for an average residential customer, and Rendell said that same customer would save $73 a year as the result of other parts of his proposal. The average industrial customer would pay nearly $900 a year but save more than $10,000, he said.

The fund would finance grants to reimburse homeowners and small businesses for half the cost of installing solar panels. It would also fund $100 rebates on residential purchases of energy-efficient air conditioners and refrigerators.