Govt plans to remove PTV fee from electricity bills

Following the prime minister’s directive, the federal government is working on a plan to eliminate unnecessary surcharges, including the PTV fee, from electricity bills, 24NewsHD TV channel reported on Friday.

According to the well-placed sources in Power Division, a proposal has been finalised to remove the PTV fee, which is currently Rs 35 per month for domestic consumers and also charged to commercial and industrial users.

The state-owned broadcaster PTV collects Rs 1.5 billion per month from its 42.6 million consumers. The recommendations for removing these additional charges will be presented to the prime minister in a meeting next week.

Established in 1964, Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV) is the largest state-owned television network in Pakistan, with nine channels and broadcasting centres in major cities. 

The PTV operates under a board of directors appointed by the federal government, with the managing director as its executive head.

With over 6,000 employees, PTV’s financial operations rely on public funding, including the electricity bill surcharge, which the government now aims to eliminate.

PTV is the Pakistan state-owned television broadcaster, founded on 26 November 1964. The bouquet of PTV Network consists of nine TV channels, i.e., PTV Home, PTV News, PTV World, PTV Sports, PTV Global, PTV Bolan, PTV National, PTV Parliament, and AJK TV.

Being the largest television network, serving about 92% of the population of Pakistan and having the largest terrestrial infrastructure in the country. 

This National Broadcaster has flourished since then and today has PTV centres in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta, Muzaffarabad, AJK, and Multan. Each TV station is headed by a general manager who is the administrative and executive head of the TV station.

Reporter: Awais Kiyani