Rs 35 PTV Fee on Electricity Bills in Pakistan: 2026 Status
The Rs 35 PTV fee was removed from electricity bills from July 2025. How to check your bill for a TV fee line in 2026 and where to complain if it is still on.
The Rs 35 PTV fee, printed on bills as "TV Fee" or "TVL Fee", should no longer be on your home electricity bill. Its removal was announced on 29 June 2025, with distribution companies told to stop charging it from July 2025. If your 2026 bill still shows it, you have a billing error to report.
For years, almost every household paid the PTV fee without owning a working television. It sat quietly between the taxes. We checked what the power companies say about it now, on 28 September 2026.
Here is what we found. K-Electric's own "Know Your Bill" page lists every part of a Karachi bill: variable charges, fixed charges, FCA, QTA, the PHL surcharge, the KMC charge, income tax, sales tax and electricity duty. There is no TV fee in that list. We could not open the Power Division notice itself, so the removal date below comes from official statements as reported, not from the notice.
The PTV fee was removed from electricity bills in July 2025
The Prime Minister announced the end of the Rs 35 monthly PTV fee on 29 June 2025. The Power Division then told all distribution companies to stop collecting it from July 2025, according to reports. K-Electric's current bill guide no longer lists it.
Before that change, the fee was collected for Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV), the state broadcaster. Power companies added it to the monthly bill and passed the money on. K-Electric's sample bill from its 2025 redesign, dated July 2025, still shows a "TVL Fee" line of Rs 35, which is the fee's old amount for a home connection.
That sample is worth a note. The picture on the page is from July 2025, the month the change began. The written list of bill parts on the same page, which is the newer text, has no TV fee in it.
| Item | Before July 2025 | From July 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Name on the bill | PTV Fee, TV Fee or TVL Fee | Should not appear |
| Amount for a home | Rs 35 a month | Rs 0 |
| Who collected it | Your power company, for PTV | Nobody, through the bill |
| K-Electric bill guide | Listed on the sample bill | Not in the list of bill parts |
| If you still see it | Exemption form, if you had no TV | A billing error to report |
Check your own bill for a TV fee line in two minutes
Open your latest bill, on paper or online, and look at the taxes block under the energy charges. Search for any line named PTV Fee, TV Fee or TVL Fee. If it shows Rs 0 or is missing, you are not paying it.
Lahore households can pull up the current bill through the LESCO bill check with the 14-digit reference number. Other companies work the same way. Then follow these steps:
- Find the reference number at the top of your bill.
- Open the online copy of your latest bill.
- Go to the taxes and duties block, below the electricity charges.
- Look for PTV Fee, TV Fee or TVL Fee.
- If it shows Rs 35 or any amount, take a photo and keep the bill.
Check one older bill too, from June 2025 or before. If the line was there then and is gone now, the change has reached your account. That is the normal case.
A TV fee on a 2026 bill is a billing error to report
If a bill after July 2025 still charges a TV fee, complain to your power company first. Ask them to remove the line and adjust the amount. If they do not fix it, take the complaint to NEPRA, the power regulator.
Your power company is called a DISCO, short for distribution company. LESCO, IESCO, MEPCO, FESCO, GEPCO, PESCO, HESCO, SEPCO, QESCO, TESCO and K-Electric are all DISCOs. Each has a helpline and a customer service centre.
Give them three things: your reference number, the month the fee appeared, and the amount. Ask for a written complaint number. Rs 35 a month is small, but over a year it is Rs 420, and wrong lines have a way of staying on bills once nobody questions them.
If the company does not act, you can take it further through a complaint to NEPRA. A wrong TV fee is a small case of a bigger problem: audit officials have told a National Assembly committee about overbilling in Pakistan worth billions of rupees in a single month.
Exemption from the fee is no longer needed
When the fee was on bills, a household with no television could apply for an exemption. Since the fee left bills in July 2025, there is nothing to be exempted from. You do not need a form, a PTV visit or a certificate.
The old process is still printed on K-Electric's July 2025 sample bill, so people still ask about it. The bill said the exemption form was on the K-Electric website and at its customer centres. You could get the form verified by PTV yourself and hand it in. If you did not, K-Electric sent it to PTV, and verification could take up to 45 days.
That route made sense when the fee was charged. It does not now. If a customer centre asks you to fill an exemption form in 2026, ask them to remove the fee as a billing error instead, and keep the complaint number.
How TV licence fees are collected now is not clear
We found no official notice of a new way to collect a TV licence fee after July 2025. No power company page we read mentions one. The change removed the fee from electricity bills, and we could not confirm any other collection method.
Reports at the time said PTV would need funding from other sources. We could not read any government decision on that, so we are not stating one. If a new fee or new collection route is announced, it will need an official notice, and we will add it here.
Be careful with messages that ask you to pay a "PTV licence fee" by phone, link or mobile wallet. We found no official scheme that works this way. Do not pay a person or a link that contacts you first.
Common questions
Is the PTV fee still charged in electricity bills in 2026?
It should not be. Its removal was announced for bills from July 2025, and K-Electric's current bill guide does not list it. If your bill shows it, report it to your power company.
How much was the PTV fee on electricity bills?
Rs 35 a month for a home connection. K-Electric's July 2025 sample bill shows the "TVL Fee" at Rs 35.
Do I need to apply for a PTV fee exemption?
No. The exemption was only for households without a TV while the fee was charged. With the fee off bills, there is nothing to apply for.
Will I get back the PTV fee charged after July 2025?
If a bill after July 2025 wrongly charged it, ask your power company to adjust it. We found no official rule on refunds, so the outcome depends on your complaint.
Where do I complain if my DISCO does not remove it?
Complain to your power company first and keep the complaint number. If it is not fixed, take it to NEPRA.
Is there a new TV licence fee in 2026?
We found no official notice of one. Ignore anyone who asks you to pay a TV fee through a link or a mobile wallet.
How we verified this
What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.
Last checked on 28 September 2026. The list of bill components and the sample bill, including the Rs 35 "TVL Fee" line and the old exemption steps, were read on K-Electric's Know Your Bill page. The 29 June 2025 announcement and the Power Division instruction to distribution companies from July 2025 are reported: we could not find the notice on the Power Division or Press Information Department websites, so we have not quoted it. We found no official source for any new TV licence collection method.
About the author
Tax, Bills and Technology Writer
Ali Akhtar is a young and curious voice here at Pakistan Era. He is currently pursuing his A-Levels and has a growing interest in Pakistan’s changing industrial landscape and educational trends. Ali likes to write in a way that helps him explain and explore the world around him. His writing reflects the perspective of the new generation navigating the evolving trends of Pakistan where technology, youth innovation, and shifting opportunities are reshaping the country’s future.
