The British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS) could significantly reduce electricity costs for qualifying manufacturers, with potential savings of up to 25%.
Applications open on 1 October 2026 and close on 30 November 2026, giving businesses a limited window to apply. Manufacturers should begin assessing their eligibility and gathering the required information now.
Why has BICS been introduced?
High industrial electricity costs can place manufacturers in Great Britain at a disadvantage compared with overseas competitors.
BICS has been introduced to help address this cost gap, support the competitiveness of British manufacturing and enable businesses to continue investing and growing.
The scheme will remove certain government policy costs from the electricity bills of qualifying manufacturers, including costs associated with:
- the Renewables Obligation
- Feed-in Tariffs
- the Capacity Market
The government states that the scheme could reduce electricity costs by up to £40 per megawatt hour. Depending on a business’s electricity tariff and qualifying energy use, this could represent a saving of up to approximately 25%.
These savings could free up cash for manufacturers to invest in people, equipment, technology, energy efficiency and future growth.
Find out how the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme works and what it could mean for qualifying manufacturers with our BICS overview.
Who qualifies for BICS?
Businesses must meet several eligibility requirements, including two key tests:
Sector test
The business must operate within an eligible manufacturing sector and manufacture qualifying products. Eligibility is determined using relevant Standard Industrial Classification, or SIC, codes and Harmonised System, or HS, product codes.
Electricity consumption test
Each manufacturing site must generally purchase more than 33MWh of electricity from the grid per year. Different requirements may apply where a site receives electricity through a private network or private wire arrangement.
The business must also be registered with Companies House. As BICS is assessed at site level, businesses operating from multiple manufacturing locations may need to review each site separately.
Not sure whether your business qualifies? Our team can assess your potential eligibility for both BICS and the existing Energy Intensive Industries scheme, helping you identify the most appropriate support available.
Watch our Who could qualify for BICS? To learn more.
When should businesses apply?
The first application window will run from 1 October to 30 November 2026. Successful applicants are expected to begin receiving relief from April 2027, with the Capacity Market exemption following from October 2027.
The government has also announced an additional payment covering the 2026/27 period, reflecting the support eligible businesses would have received had BICS been operational from April 2026. Applying during the first window may therefore provide access to both ongoing relief and this additional payment.
Businesses that miss the initial application window may have to wait until a later application round and could lose access to the additional payment, making early preparation essential.
What information will businesses need?
Businesses should begin gathering:
- Companies House registration details
- the postcode of each manufacturing site
- the relevant SIC and HS codes
- details of products manufactured at each site
- annual grid electricity consumption
- estimates of electricity used for qualifying manufacturing activities
- electricity bills and supporting consumption records
How can we help?
Our team can:
- assess eligibility for BICS or the potentially more favourable EII scheme
- review relevant SIC and HS codes
- estimate the potential annual saving
- prepare and submit the application
- assist with the additional payment for the 2026/27 period
- support annual renewals and ongoing compliance
Check if your business qualifies
If your business operates a manufacturing site in England, Scotland or Wales and uses more than 33MWh of grid electricity each year, it may be worth assessing your eligibility.
Contact our team to arrange an initial BICS eligibility review and estimate the potential saving for your business.
BICS currently applies to manufacturing sites in England, Scotland and Wales and does not apply to sites in Northern Ireland. This article is for general information only and does not constitute tax, legal or energy procurement advice. Eligibility and potential savings will depend on the business’s specific circumstances.
