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British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS)

Support for Manufacturers Preparing for BICS

Request an Initial BICS Review

Last updated: 25 August 2026

The British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS) is designed to reduce electricity costs for eligible UK manufacturers through exemptions from the Renewables Obligation, Feed-in Tariffs and Capacity Market charges.

Applications for the first scheme year will open on 1 October 2026 and close on 30 November 2026. The amount of support available will be determined at site level, based on the proportion of imported electricity used to manufacture eligible products.

EIC can support manufacturers with eligibility reviews, site and meter assessments, eligible-electricity calculations, evidence preparation and BICS application management.

  • Applications: 1 October to 30 November 2026
  • Potential relief: approximately £35 to £40/MWh
  • Initial threshold: more than 33 MWh of grid-imported electricity per year at the relevant site
Check Your BICS Readiness

Is Your Business Likely to Be in Scope?

Initial BICS eligibility depends on a combination of business, product and electricity-use criteria. A business must be registered with Companies House, operate within an eligible manufacturing sector, manufacture at least one eligible product and import more than 33 MWh of electricity per year at the relevant site.

Eligible sectors are identified through SIC codes and eligible products through HS codes. Meeting these baseline criteria allows the site to be assessed, but does not determine the level of exemption. The support band will depend on the proportion of site electricity used for qualifying manufacturing activity.

Inspired now makes Companies House registration and the 33 MWh threshold visible on its service page. Without these conditions, EIC’s eligibility summary is incomplete.

Use the GOV.UK Eligibility Checker

BICS Initial Eligibility Check

A business is more likely to be in scope for BICS where it can evidence:

The business is registered with Companies House.

Check the government’s BICS eligibility document to confirm whether your Companies House SIC code is included.

Your site must manufacture at least one eligible product. Check the government’s BICS eligibility document to confirm whether your product aligns with an eligible HS code.

The relevant manufacturing site imports more than 33 MWh of grid electricity per year.

Qualifying manufacturing activity takes place at the site being assessed.

Please note: Meeting these initial criteria does not automatically confirm the level of support available.

The first application window will open between 1 October 2026 and 30 November 2026, with exemptions commencing during 2027.

Government has announced an additional payment for eligible businesses, intended to reflect support for the period prior to exemptions taking effect.

For many businesses, the immediate question is not whether BICS exists.

It is whether the scheme applies to their operations, what level of support may be available and what information may be required before an application can be submitted.

What Does BICS Mean for Manufacturers?

BICS could provide a meaningful reduction in electricity costs for manufacturers that meet the scheme requirements. Government estimates place the benefit at approximately £35 to £40/MWh, depending on the costs being exempted and the level of support achieved.

The financial outcome for an individual business will depend on its electricity consumption and the exemption band awarded to each eligible site. Businesses accepted during the first application window are also expected to receive a one-off payment reflecting the support they would have received had BICS operated from April 2026.

The first application period is limited to two months. Sites that do not enter for the first scheme year may need to wait for a subsequent delivery year, and the initial retrospective payment will not be available in later years. This makes the quality and timing of preparation particularly important.

How Does BICS Work?

To qualify for BICS, businesses must satisfy both sector and product requirements.

  • Sector Eligibility

    Businesses must operate within an eligible manufacturing sector identified through approved SIC codes.

  • Product Eligibility

    Businesses must manufacture at least one eligible product identified through approved HS codes.

  • Site-Level Assessment

    The level of support available is expected to depend on the proportion of electricity used within qualifying manufacturing activity at each site.

Electricity Used for Eligible Manufacturing ActivityExemption
Less than 25%No exemption
25% to less than 50%50% exemption
50% or moreFull exemption

The exemption bands are stepped rather than gradual. A reliable calculation of eligible electricity use is therefore important, particularly where a site is close to one of the thresholds.

What a BICS Assessment May Involve

Arrange a BICS Consultation

Sector and product eligibility

Reviewing Companies House information, SIC classifications, products manufactured at each site and the applicable HS codes.

Site and meter scoping

Identifying the sites included in the assessment, the relevant import MPANs, site boundaries and any private-network, landlord or shared-supply arrangements.

Eligible-electricity calculation

Assessing the amount and proportion of imported electricity used to manufacture eligible products at each site.

Evidence development

Compiling the records, calculations, assumptions and supporting information required to explain and substantiate the eligible-electricity position.

Application preparation

Completing the required application information, reviewing consistency across sites and preparing the submission for the Department for Business and Trade.

Establishing Eligible Electricity Use

The Government’s site-level assessment requires manufacturers to identify how much imported electricity is used to manufacture eligible products. In some cases, this can be supported directly through existing sub-metering. In others, the position may need to be developed using a documented calculation methodology.

Depending on the site and the data available, an assessment may draw upon:

  • half-hourly electricity consumption;
  • import MPAN data;
  • sub-metering and circuit-level monitoring;
  • production schedules and operating hours;
  • equipment load profiles;
  • process and production records;
  • site plans and operational boundaries; and
  • reasonable engineering estimates supported by documented assumptions.

EIC can review the available information, identify where further evidence may be needed and prepare a calculation methodology appropriate to the site.

Where Additional Review May Be Required

Site-level assessment is likely to be simplest where eligible manufacturing activity operates through clearly defined sites and dedicated electricity supplies.

Additional review may be needed where operational and electricity-supply boundaries do not align.

Mixed-Use Sites

Manufacturing, warehousing, offices and ancillary services may share the same supply.

Shared Supplies

A single import MPAN may serve eligible and non-eligible activity.

Landlord Arrangements

The occupier may receive electricity indirectly, limiting direct access to supplier and meter information.

Private networks and private wire

Imported and internally distributed electricity may require separate treatment within the assessment.

Multiple MPANs and historic changes

Expansions, acquisitions and changes in site use may have created a meter portfolio that no longer reflects current operational boundaries.

Limited process-level data

Existing invoices and half-hourly data may show total site consumption without identifying qualifying manufacturing use.

These arrangements do not automatically prevent a BICS application, but they can affect the calculation methodology, evidence requirements and time needed to establish a reliable position.

Our BICS Support Service

EIC can support manufacturers from initial eligibility review through to application preparation and ongoing scheme management.

The precise scope will depend on the number of sites, the complexity of the operating environment and the quality of the information available.

  • Stage 1

    Initial eligibility and value review

    • Companies House and SIC review
    • Product and HS-code review
    • Consumption-threshold check
    • Initial site scoping
    • Indicative relief calculation
    • Assessment of whether a full review appears proportionate

    Client output: Initial eligibility and opportunity summary.

  • Stage 2

    Site, meter and evidence review

    • Relevant-site identification
    • MPAN and metering review
    • Shared-supply and landlord-arrangement review
    • Data-gap assessment
    • Review of existing production and operational evidence

    Client output: Site and evidence requirements schedule.

  • Stage 3

    Eligible-electricity calculation

    • Consumption-data analysis
    • Manufacturing-process mapping
    • Allocation methodology
    • Calculations and assumptions
    • Review against the exemption thresholds

    Client output: Site-level eligible-electricity calculation and supporting methodology.

  • Stage 4

    Evidence pack and application

    • Evidence-pack composition
    • Application-data preparation
    • Quality and consistency review
    • Submission support
    • Responses to scheme-administrator questions

    Client output: Application-ready submission and supporting evidence pack.

  • Stage 5

    Implementation and ongoing compliance

    Subject to internal approval:

    • Supplier coordination after approval
    • Review of exemptions appearing on invoices
    • Transitional-payment and savings checks
    • Annual declaration support
    • Material-change reviews
    • Preparation for the Year 2 review

    Client output: Ongoing BICS compliance and benefit-assurance support.

Why Work with EIC?

BICS requires an understanding of electricity data, site and meter structures, manufacturing activity, evidence and compliance. These are areas EIC already supports through its wider energy-management, metering, reporting and utility-cost services.

Our BICS work is designed to provide a clear view of:

  • whether the business and its products meet the baseline criteria;
  • which sites and supplies require assessment;
  • how eligible electricity use has been calculated;
  • what evidence supports the position;
  • which exemption band each site may reach;
  • what information is required for the application; and
  • what obligations continue after approval.

As an independent consultancy, EIC can also assess whether the potential benefit appears proportionate to the work required, rather than assuming that every potentially eligible business should proceed.

Start Your BICS Review

FAQ about British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS)

BICS is a Government support scheme designed to reduce electricity costs for eligible UK manufacturers through exemptions from the Renewables Obligation (RO), Feed-in Tariffs (FiT) and Capacity Market (CM).

The scheme is intended to support eligible manufacturing businesses by reducing indirect electricity policy costs from 2027.

To be eligible for BICS, a business must meet four baseline criteria. It must be registered on Companies House, operate within an eligible manufacturing sector, manufacture eligible products in Great Britain, and use at least 33 MWh of grid-supplied electricity per year at the manufacturing site for which support is being claimed. Businesses will not be able to proceed with an online application unless they meet these criteria.

SIC (Standard Industrial Classification) codes are used to classify business activities and identify the sector in which a business operates. The government has published a list of eligible manufacturing SIC codes for the scheme.

For BICS, eligible sectors are classified using 4-digit SIC 2007 codes, and private or public limited companies must have at least one eligible SIC code recorded on Companies House to proceed with an application.

HS (Harmonised System) codes classify products and manufactured goods. Businesses are expected to manufacture at least one eligible product associated with an approved HS code.

For BICS, eligible products are classified using 6-digit HS codes. Businesses do not need to import or export goods to be eligible, but they must be able to demonstrate that eligible products are manufactured at the site being assessed.

Yes. The Government has stated that sector eligibility alone is not sufficient. Businesses are expected to satisfy both sector and product requirements.

In practice, this means the business must operate within an eligible SIC code and manufacture at least one eligible product aligned to an eligible HS code. The Government has also stated that the listed SIC and HS codes will determine eligibility for the first year of delivery.

The Government has confirmed that support is expected to be linked to electricity used within eligible manufacturing activity at each site. As a result, site-level electricity use plays an important role in determining support levels.

BICS support is calculated at the level of an individual manufacturing site, and the level of relief depends on the proportion of electricity consumption that relates to eligible products and eligible manufacturing activities.

Eligible electricity use is calculated by comparing total grid electricity supplied to the manufacturing site with the amount of grid electricity used for eligible manufacturing activity. Where a site produces both eligible and ineligible products, businesses need to explain the method used to identify eligible activity, total grid electricity use, and the amount of electricity used for eligible production or eligible supporting activity.

Where eligible electricity use is 25% or less, the exemption level is 0%. Where it is more than 25% but less than 50%, the exemption level is 50%. Where it is 50% or more, the exemption level is 100%.

Yes, but the approach must be evidence-based and appropriate to the information available.

GOV.UK guidance states that where sub-metering or electricity monitoring equipment is not available, businesses should explain the approach used, such as estimates of average electricity use by machine, production data used as a proxy, or another suitable method.

Underlying evidence may be requested as part of post-application checks.

Businesses will need to understand how electricity is used across different activities and how qualifying manufacturing activity is represented within overall site consumption.

Only the electricity used for eligible manufacturing activity, and eligible supporting activity where relevant, will count towards the BICS calculation. Where both eligible and ineligible activity takes place, the business will need to provide a clear rationale and calculation to support the exemption level claimed.

Shared supplies do not necessarily prevent participation in the scheme, but they may require additional analysis to understand how electricity is used across different activities.

Where a business shares a meter, it will need to determine and evidence the proportion of total metered electricity that relates to its own activity. The exemption will only apply to the applicant’s share of the metered electricity.

Landlord-supplied electricity does not automatically prevent a business from being assessed for BICS. However, the applicant is responsible for obtaining suitable evidence from the landlord or third party, including information on the electricity supplied, the relevant MPANs and how electricity use is allocated. Businesses are encouraged to engage landlords or third-party owners early so the required evidence can be gathered before applying.

They can.

GOV.UK guidance states that businesses supplied through private network arrangements may be eligible where they can demonstrate that they are subject to the relevant BICS policy costs and provide sufficient information for those costs to be verified.

However, some generator import meter arrangements will not be eligible in the first year of the scheme.

Businesses using private network or private-wire arrangements should contact their electricity supplier to confirm whether their arrangement is in scope before applying.

The first BICS application window will open on 1 October 2026 and close on 30 November 2026 at 11:59pm. The application link will be made available on the GOV.UK BICS collection page.

For the first year of the scheme, businesses must apply during the published application window, which runs from 1 October 2026 to 30 November 2026 at 11:59pm.

The current guidance points to future application windows rather than continuous, open enrolment during a scheme year.

Where a site no longer qualifies and later resumes operations, the guidance states that the business may apply again during a future application window, subject to the eligibility requirements in force at that time.

For the first year of the scheme, RO and FiT exemptions are due to start from April 2027, with Capacity Market exemptions starting from October 2027.

If an application is successful, the Department will share relevant information directly with the electricity supplier, and the supplier is expected to apply the relevant exemptions to electricity bills.

The Government has announced a one-off additional payment for eligible businesses in 2027.

This is intended to reflect the support those businesses would have received if BICS had been in place from April 2026.

Further details on this payment are expected to be published separately.

Once an application is submitted, it cannot be amended, so the information and evidence should be checked carefully before submission.

The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (BIST) will assess the application and notify applicants of the outcome by email.

For each delivery year, eligibility decisions are expected by the second week of January, although complex cases may take until the end of January.

The guidance also states that there will be no contact with the applicant unless the application involves a private network or private-wire supply, so businesses should make sure the application is complete and accurate before it is submitted.

If an application is successful, the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (BIST) will confirm the exemption level that applies to the manufacturing site or sites.

The exemption will be valid for five years, subject to annual declarations and a Year 2 review.

Businesses must also notify the Department of material changes that could affect eligibility, application information or entitlement to support.

The Government has confirmed a five-year eligibility period, supported by annual declarations and a review after Year 2.

Annual declarations will take place in years 1, 3 and 4 of the eligibility period, while the Year 2 review will involve a full eligibility reassessment.

If a business starts receiving BICS exemptions in 2027, the Year 2 review will need to be submitted between April and November 2028.

The value will depend on electricity consumption, site arrangements, manufacturing activity and support levels achieved. Government estimates suggest relief could be worth up to approximately £40/MWh where eligibility requirements are met.

The final level of exemption will depend on site-level assessment, including the proportion of grid electricity used for eligible manufacturing activity.

Businesses should retain evidence that supports both eligibility and the exemption level claimed.

This may include electricity consumption data, MPAN details, production records, site boundaries or site plans, equipment or process information, sub-metering or electricity monitoring data, and the assumptions used in any calculations.

GOV.UK guidance states that businesses must retain all records and supporting evidence relating to their application for at least six years and make them available on request.

Businesses that may be in scope should review their Companies House registration details, SIC classifications, products manufactured, HS codes, site boundaries, annual grid-imported electricity consumption, relevant MPANs, metering arrangements and supporting evidence before the application window opens.

They should also confirm whether site electricity use exceeds the 33 MWh threshold, whether sub-metering or electricity monitoring data is available, and whether any electricity consumption is already covered by the British Industry Supercharger scheme.

Request an Initial BICS Review

Complete the short form below and our team will review the information provided against the baseline BICS requirements.

Your initial response will identify:

  • whether the business appears to meet the baseline criteria;
  • which sites may require further assessment;
  • the main data or evidence gaps;
  • the likely complexity of a full review; and
  • the recommended next step.

 

Company Information

Contact Name

Eligibility

Do you know the HS code(s) for the products manufactured at the site?
Does the site receive electricity through a private network or private-wire arrangement?
Do you currently have sub-metering or other electricity monitoring data available for the site?
Does your business currently participate in the British Industry Supercharger scheme?
What is your preferred contact method?
Do you consent to EIC reviewing your Companies House data as part of an initial BICS eligibility assessment?

Prepare Your BICS Application with EIC

The first BICS application window closes on 30 November 2026.

Our team can review your baseline eligibility, assess the relevant sites and electricity supplies, prepare the eligible-electricity calculation and help compile the evidence required for submission.

Request an Initial BICS Review

Speak to the Carbon Team

Not sure if your business qualifies for BICS? Contact EIC for a consultation and get expert guidance on eligibility, potential support and the next steps.

Make the call today at 0208 835 3535 or fill in the contact form.

With a century of combined experience in carbon and energy strategy, EIC Partnership is here to help you manage today and plan for tomorrow.

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