Progressive is not a label that's often applied to anything coming out of Harrisburg, but it is one that sticks to Gov. Ed Rendell's Energy Independence Strategy.

The governor's ambitious, $850 million plan, announced in February but set aside during this summer's bitter budget fight, is designed to reduce the state's reliance on foreign fuels, to insulate residential and commercial customers from electricity shortages and rate spikes and to create jobs.

Gov. Rendell restarted the discussion with a speech Monday, kicking off a special session of the Legislature on the issue of energy.

His plan would give Pennsylvanians the right to smart meters in their homes, which allow variable electric rates for peak and off-peak use and encourage customers to use high-wattage appliances when rates are lower. Customers could get rebates by turning in old, inefficient air conditioners and refrigerators for new models that use less energy. And the state would pay up to half the cost of installing solar panels on homes and small businesses.

Businesses would be able to sign longer-term contracts with utilities, giving them predictability and stability, and auto fuel producers would have to cut the percentage of fossil fuels used in products sold at Pennsylvania gas pumps.

As much as $500 million would be used to attract private investment in energy-related economic development projects -- and jobs -- such as solar manufacturing, advanced coal technology, conservation and biofuels.

A statewide survey of likely voters taken in June showed overwhelming support for the plan, even though it calls for a surcharge on electric bills. The charge is minimal for residential customers -- the average will be just 45 cents a month, with an average of $3 a month for commercial buyers and $74 for industrial customers. For the largest industries, the fee would be capped at $10,000 per year. The charges would be used to pay off $850 million in bonds that would fund the program.

Republicans have opposed the surcharge, which they call an energy tax, and they say they don't want to support a plan that requires borrowing. But Pennsylvania's debt is well below the level permitted under the state Constitution, and the state has a sound credit rating.

Gov. Rendell says House Republicans' own, $250 million plan contains "too little money spread out to too many different things to make an impact."

Members of the House and Senate should adopt the governor's bold plan. If they don't, that would be a waste of energy.