BICS eligibility: the application window is now confirmed

The British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS) BICS removes the indirect cost of three policy levies from eligible manufacturers’ electricity bills: the Renewables Obligation, Feed-in Tariffs and the Capacity Market. The government values this at around £35 to £40 per MWh – roughly 3.5p to 4p per kWh, or up to 25% off the bill for a qualifying site.

Two things make the 2026 window particularly valuable:

1. A one-off backdated payment. Businesses confirmed in the first round will receive a payment covering the support they would have had if BICS had started in April 2026. That is a year of relief paid in one go.
2. Support from day one. RO and Feed-in Tariff exemptions apply from April 2027, with the Capacity Market exemption following in October 2027.

BICS only touches policy costs. It does not reduce network charges like DUoS or TNUoS, and it does not apply to gas. Over 10,000 manufacturing businesses across Great Britain are expected to qualify. For the full background, see our guide to the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme.

The scheme covers Great Britain only. A site needs to clear two tests:

1. The sector test. The business operates in an eligible sector – one of the Industrial Strategy growth sectors or a foundational industry that supplies them – confirmed by its SIC code. The final list runs to 80 eligible 4-digit codes.
2. The product test. The site manufactures at least one eligible product, confirmed by HS code.

Being in the right sector on its own is not enough. The relief is then banded per site, based on how much of that site’s electricity goes into eligible manufacturing:

• Under 25% of site electricity on eligible products: no exemption
• 25% to 50%: a 50% exemption
• 50% or more: a 100% exemption

Two more things worth knowing. First, your registered SIC code is not always the last word – businesses whose registered code does not match their actual activity have an appeals route, and we have already worked cases on both sides of that line. Second, BICS cannot be combined with the British Industry Supercharger. If you qualify for both, the Supercharger pays more, and that is the one to take.

We’ll check whether your site looks likely to qualify. If it does, we’ll prepare the eligibility application for you. If it does not, we’ll say so plainly, and there is nothing for you to do.

To run the check we need one thing: your latest electricity bills, dated within the last three months.

Sources

1. DBT written ministerial statement confirming application window and delivery, 8 July 2026. View on parliament.uk
2. DBT, Government response to BICS: consultation on regulatory changes and scheme delivery, July 2026. View on gov.uk
3. DBT, Government response to BICS: consultation on scheme eligibility and approach (including final SIC and HS code lists, Annex A), 16 April 2026. View on gov.uk
4. Modern Industrial Strategy (June 2025), which first announced BICS.