British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS)
New support to reduce electricity costs for UK manufacturers. Find out how the scheme works, whether your business could qualify and how to apply before the 30 November 2026 deadline.
British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS)
New support to reduce electricity costs for UK manufacturers. Find out how the scheme works, whether your business could qualify and how to apply before the 30 November 2026 deadline.
The British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme is a new Government initiative designed to reduce electricity costs for eligible manufacturers and strengthen the competitiveness of UK industry.
→ For businesses that qualify, BICS will provide relief from several costs currently incorporated into commercial electricity bills.
→ The first application window is time limited, making it important for manufacturers to establish their potential eligibility before applications close.
What support is available?
Eligible businesses can benefit from:
✔ Renewables Obligation (RO): Relief from eligible RO charges from April 2027.
✔ Feed-in Tariff (FiT): Relief from eligible FiT charges from April 2027.
✔ Capacity Market (CM): Relief from eligible Capacity Market charges from October 2027.
Additional support is also planned for eligible businesses.
Could your business qualify?
BICS is targeted at eligible UK manufacturing businesses. Qualification depends on a number of factors, including:
✔ the manufacturing activities undertaken;
✔ the products manufactured and applicable SIC/HS classifications;
✔ electricity consumption, with sites generally needing at least 33 MWh of grid electricity annually; and
✔ satisfying the detailed Government eligibility requirements.
Importantly, eligibility is based on what your business actually manufactures, rather than simply the SIC code recorded at Companies House.
The first application window opens on the 1st October and closes on 30 November 2026.
If you manufacture in the UK and have significant grid electricity consumption, now is the time to establish whether your business could benefit.
Applying for BICS requires more than establishing that you are a manufacturer. ABGi can help you assess the opportunity and build the evidence required to support an application.
We review your manufacturing activities, products and electricity consumption to establish whether BICS warrants further investigation.
We assess the relevant classifications and supporting information against the scheme requirements.
We estimate the value of the electricity-cost relief available to your business.
We help prepare and submit the information and evidence required.
We help you understand subsequent compliance requirements and the implications of changes to your operations.
