Orissa mulls green cess

A report in Business Standard suggests that the Orissa Renewable Energy Development Agency is mooting a “green cess” to promote the use of renewable energy in the state. OREDA is expected to send a formal proposal to the state government later this year suggesting a nominal charge of INR 0.05/kWh on its electricity consumers. States such as Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra have similar policies wherein they collect funds from consumers using conventional power and use it to promote green power and energy efficiency in their region.