The deadline to apply for the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS) is fast approaching. Applications for BICS close at 11:59pm on 30 November 2026 so, assuming that you’re an eligible manufacturer, now is the time to start preparing.
If you miss the deadline, unfortunately that’s it. You’ll have lost your chance to reduce your electricity costs for 2027. If that sounds harsh, there’s also no flexibility if you make a mistake on your application. Once it’s submitted, you can’t go back and amend it.
This means you don’t just want to avoid missing the deadline; you also want to get the application right the first time, with every detail perfect. With such a short application window, that’s a tough ask for many businesses.
What is BICS?
BICS stands for the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme. It’s designed to reduce eligible manufacturers’ electricity costs by up to £40 per megawatt-hour through exemptions from the Renewables Obligation (RO), Feed-in Tariffs (FIT) and Capacity Market (CM).
It’s part of the UK Government’s Industrial Strategy, a 10-year plan to increase business investment and drive economic growth in eight priority sectors, known as the ‘IS-8’. The scheme covers manufacturers in eligible ‘frontier’ industries within these eight sectors. It also covers eligible ‘foundational’ manufacturers that supply key inputs to these industries and meet the required electricity-intensity threshold.
When will successful applicants receive support?
Businesses will find out in early 2027 if they’re eligible, and for successful applicants the RO and FIT exemptions will kick in in April 2027, with the CM exemptions coming in October 2027.
What do we need to apply for BICS?
The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade has published the evidence requirements for BICS, which we have summarised below. To apply, you’ll need to submit information and evidence covering:
Your business identity
What you’ll need:
- Companies House number.
- Company authorisation code.
- Registered business name.
- Contact in the business if not the applicant.
- SIC code, where relevant.
Your applicant details
What you’ll need:
- Applicant name.
- Contact address.
- Email address.
- One Login account.
Your manufacturing site(s)
What you’ll need:
- Site name and address.
- A statement explaining what is on the site and the eligible and non-eligible activities.
- Supporting documents, such as site maps and process diagrams.
Any shared meter or third-party arrangements
What you’ll need:
At least one of the following:
- Tenancy or lease agreements.
- Energy supply agreements.
- Recharge agreements or contracts between parties.
- Landlord or third-party electricity invoices.
- Intercompany charge, expense allocation and cost recharge.
- Correspondence or supporting documentation to explain the third-party arrangement.
Your electricity consumption/grid arrangements
What you’ll need:
- Electricity bills for the most recent six consecutive months available within the last twelve months, showing the supply address, MPAN details, supplier name, billing period, amount of grid electricity used and bill payer.
- For sites connected directly to the transmission network, Balancing Mechanism Unit details.
- If you share a meter with another business or premises, evidence of the amount of grid electricity used by your business.
Any private wire arrangements
What you’ll need:
- A statement from your supplier to confirm you’re in scope of BICS exemptions.
- An electricity bill or alternative covering six months that shows you pay the relevant electricity levies.
Your eligible manufacturing activity
What you’ll need:
One or more of the following:
- Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) records, such as SAP records.
- Production logs showing products manufactured, production dates and quantities produced.
- Quality control records linked to production batches.
Your pro-rating tier
What you’ll need:
- A statement explaining your pro-rating calculations, including any shared meter or existing BIS exemption.
- Six months of sub-metering or electricity monitoring data, if you have it, presented as monthly totals.
Any existing British Industry Supercharger exemption
What you’ll need:
- A copy of your EII certificate.
- Percentage of MPAN that already receives BIS exemption.
- Confirmation of Prodcom codes that the EII certificate relates to at each meter.
- A declaration confirming that electricity consumption claimed for BICS is separate from any electricity consumption claimed under EII.
Your applicant declaration
What you’ll need:
- Email verification from an individual listed on the business’s Companies House record.
Any special Companies House status
What you’ll need:
Additional information if your company is dormant or subject to insolvency or restructuring procedures, such as:
- Details of a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA).
- Confirmation that the company continues to operate.
- A letter from an administrator or liquidator.
Why should you prepare your BICS application now?
As you can see from the list above, there’s a lot to prepare before the November deadline.
You need to make sure that you give yourself enough time to gather the evidence and submit a complete and accurate application. You don’t want to rush your application, because if your evidence has gaps or errors, or doesn’t show you’re eligible for the exemption you’re claiming, your application could be turned down.
We strongly recommend that you start preparing your information as soon as possible. The sooner you start collecting, the more time you’ll have to check everything and sort out any gaps before you submit.
And don’t wait to check your eligibility. Many manufacturers delay because they’re not sure they qualify. Don’t rule your business out just because you can’t find your product listed in the eligible HS codes; it may fall under a broader six-digit category.
How Leyton can help
If you’re worried you won’t have enough time to prepare your BICS application before the deadline, we recommend speaking with one of our energy tax relief consultants as soon as possible.
If you’re short on time, we can take the application off your hands. Our consultants will work with you from now until you submit, and we’ll manage the whole process. We’ll review what you manufacture at each site and help you gather the evidence, including how to show your electricity use for your eligible activity.
We’ll then check the application for accuracy before it goes in, which really matters when you only get one chance to submit. Once you’re approved, we’ll liaise with your energy supplier to make sure that the exemptions reach your bill.
Find out more about how we can help with the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS).
You can also watch the replay of our helpful webinar: Preparing for BICS: What businesses need to know before applications open.
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