If your business manufactures in Great Britain, you may be able to get out of paying some policy levies on your electricity from April 2027 through the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS). You have to apply to the government yourself, and the first window closes at 11:59pm on 30 November 2026.
This post covers who qualifies, what evidence you'll need, how the relief actually reaches your bill and what to check in your supply contract. Not a manufacturer? The scheme won't apply to you, but the deadlines guide and renewal checklist cover the dates that do.
What is BICS, and how much could it save?
BICS is a government scheme that lowers electricity costs for eligible manufacturers. If you qualify, you're exempt from the indirect costs of three policy schemes that are normally passed through on business electricity bills:
- the Renewables Obligation (RO)
- Feed-in Tariffs (FiT)
- the Capacity Market (CM)
As of November 2026, the government says BICS will cut electricity costs by up to £40 per megawatt hour (MWh) for more than 10,000 eligible businesses, and describes this as bills falling by up to 25%. Treat 25% as a ceiling, not a promise. What you actually save depends on how much grid electricity you use and which exemption band each site falls into.
The government has also said there'll be a one-off extra payment in 2027, covering the support eligible businesses would have had if the scheme had started in April 2026.
Who qualifies for BICS?
As of November 2026, the applicant guidance on GOV.UK sets four tests. Your business must:
- be registered on Companies House
- operate in an eligible sector, identified by a listed four-digit SIC 2007 code on your Companies House record
- manufacture at least one eligible product in Great Britain, identified by its six-digit HS commodity code
- use at least 33 MWh of grid-supplied electricity a year at each manufacturing site you claim for
In the first year, eligibility is decided only against the listed SIC and HS codes. The scheme is aimed at manufacturing "frontier" industries, such as automotive and aerospace, and "foundational" industries that supply them, such as chemicals. Offices, retail, hospitality and other non-manufacturing businesses don't qualify.
Only electricity from the grid counts. On-site solar or CHP doesn't, because those units don't carry the levies BICS removes.
Before you start, check that your Companies House record shows the right SIC code. The guidance explains how to update it if it doesn't.
How is the relief worked out for each site?
BICS works site by site, not company by company. For each site, you compare its total grid electricity with the share used to make eligible products. That share decides your band:
| Share of site grid electricity used for eligible manufacturing | Exemption |
|---|---|
| 25% or less | None |
| More than 25% but less than 50% | 50% |
| 50% or more | 100% |
The bands are stepped, so the boundaries matter a lot. A site just above 25% gets half its levy costs removed, while a site at exactly 25% gets nothing. If you're close to a boundary, it's worth getting the measurement right.
What evidence will you need?
The GOV.UK guidance, including its Annex A on evidence, expects you to supply:
- Electricity bills. If you pay your supplier directly and don't share a meter, the bills should show the supply address, MPAN, supplier name, billing period and bill payer. Industry summaries of the guidance say you need six consecutive months of bills from the last 12 months.
- Every import MPAN for the site, with the consumption for each one.
- Production evidence showing that you make the eligible products at that site. This normally comes from production logs or MRP/ERP records, totalled by month, and should show how eligible output compares with total output.
- Your pro-rating calculation and the evidence behind it.
- Details of any existing relief, such as the share of an MPAN already covered by the British Industry Supercharger.
There are separate routes if a landlord or another third party bills you, if you share meters with another business, or if your bills come through a purchasing group or a hedged arrangement that doesn't produce a standard supplier invoice. Leave extra time if any of these apply, because you may need paperwork from someone else.
Applications fail for reasons like MPANs that don't match the site, a domestic meter, or not having six months of electricity evidence. Check every MPAN against your bills before you submit. If a term on your bill is unfamiliar, the business energy glossary explains MPANs, pass-through charges and more.
Can your supplier or broker apply for you?
You apply directly through the government portal. Some suppliers have said publicly that they don't run the scheme and can't apply for customers. There's also no "BICS certification" to buy. It's a government relief application, not a qualification.
If someone offers to "certify" you, or wants fees or long contract commitments in return for BICS help, slow down and ask exactly what you're paying for. You can make the application yourself using the free GOV.UK guidance. Our guide to checking an energy broker before signing lists the questions to ask about fees.
How will the saving reach your bill?
Once you're approved, the government shares your details with your supplier: your eligible MPANs, exemption percentage and start and end dates. Your supplier then applies the exemption.
The key point is that how suppliers pass on the exemption is up to them. The government has acknowledged it could come through billing adjustments, pricing or contract terms. The government response also says pass-through is simpler where levies appear as separate items on the bill, and more complicated on fixed-price or blended contracts. Our guide to fixed contracts and pass-through charges from April 2027 explains how those charges work.
So it's worth checking:
- whether your contract shows RO, FiT and CM costs as separate pass-through items, or bundles them into a single unit rate
- whether the contract has a clause on changes to third-party or policy costs, and which way it works
- how your supplier plans to show the exemption on your bills, and from which date
If you're renewing or signing a new contract over the next few months, ask how the contract will handle a BICS exemption from April 2027. That's better than finding out after you've signed.
What if you already get British Industry Supercharger relief?
The British Industry Supercharger already supports around 550 of the most electricity-intensive businesses, as of May 2026. From 1 April 2026, its network charge relief rose from 60% to 90% for existing recipients. You can't get the same exemption twice, so if you hold an energy-intensive industry certificate, declare it on your BICS application.
What happens if you miss the deadline or aren't eligible?
If you miss the 30 November 2026 window, you can't join the scheme from April 2027. The government expects to open more windows for later scheme years.
If you're not eligible, the government has proposed using public money to offset the cost of BICS. The aim is that other electricity customers, both households and businesses, don't end up paying more because of the exemption.
The government also plans to publish the names of all businesses that benefit, but not how much each one gets. Approval isn't a one-off, either. In your second year of exemption, you'll need to send in a report for a full eligibility review.
Key dates as of November 2026
- 1 October to 30 November 2026 (11:59pm): the first application window
- January 2027: eligibility decisions due
- April 2027: RO and FiT exemptions start
- October 2027: Capacity Market exemption starts
What to do next
- Check your SIC code on Companies House and compare it with the eligible list on GOV.UK.
- Identify the HS6 code for each product you make at each site.
- List every import MPAN for each site and check it against your bills.
- Pull together six consecutive months of electricity bills from the last 12 months.
- Gather monthly production records that split eligible output from everything else.
- Work out each site's band, and look closely at any site near 25% or 50%.
- Read your supply contract to see how policy costs are charged, and ask your supplier how it'll pass on any exemption.
- Submit through the government portal well before 30 November 2026, and keep copies of everything.
- Put your own usage into the free estimator for a typical annual cost to compare with your bills.
This is general information, not financial advice.