Pakistan Television is estimated to earn Rs 3.1 to 3.2 billion only through TV licence fee in this fiscal year, it is learnt.
Sources said that TV licence fee of Rs 25 is being added to the residential electricity bills having consumption of over 100 units per month from August. Only Karachi, which has 600,000 consumers falling in this range, would generate Rs 180 million.
Sources said that this collection would be six times higher than what the PTV itself or through its contractors used to collect previously. "If managed properly and marketing of PTV programmes and advertising time is done on purely commercial lines it should earn more than Rs 6.5 billion in one year," they added.
Pakistan Television has so far been keeping secret its finances, especially TV fee collection and selling of time. There was no transparency in its system as various heads had been telling the press.
The collection of TV licence fee through power bills would give a correct figure of TV sets in the country and make licence fee collection transparent.
A KESC spokesman said that from August TV licence fees have been added to the residential electricity bills having consumption of over 100 units per month.
He said that the amount so collected would be passed on to the PTV by KESC. "Approximately 600,000 consumers on residential billing panel, under the category of levy, would be charged TV licence fee."
The spokesman said that the same tariff is also applied to some of the philanthropic and religious institutions such as mosques, Madaris, government schools and common lights, water pumps of housing complexes etc.
Such consumers have been identified and separated and will not be charged TV licence fee. In case their bills inadvertently reflect the fee amount, these consumers may approach their local billing office for deletion of the same.
KESC has advised its residential consumers who do not use a TV or have more than one electricity meter and only one television set on the premises to also contact their local KESC office and fill in the prescribed form of declaration for the purpose of TV licence fee.
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