Who can apply for BICS? The four eligibility criteria explained

The British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS) removes the costs of the Renewables Obligation, Feed-in Tariffs, and Capacity Market from eligible manufacturers' electricity bills.

But the scheme is only open to businesses that meet a specific set of criteria, and applications run for eight weeks only, from 1 October to 30 November 2026.

Here is what a business needs to show.

The four criteria

To be eligible, a business must meet all four of the following:

1. Be registered on Companies House.
2. Operate in an eligible sector.
3. Manufacture an eligible product.
4. Use at least 33 MWh of grid electricity a year at that site.

We’ve broken each of these categories down below.

1. Be registered on Companies House

The first requirement is straightforward: your business must appear on the Companies House register. If it does not, you cannot proceed with an application. If you have recently incorporated, allow for the fact that online registration typically takes around 24 to 48 hours.

Worth noting: businesses registered within the previous six months may face additional scrutiny. That does not rule them out, but it is a good reason to have supporting evidence ready.

2. Operate in an eligible sector

Eligibility is defined by 4-digit SIC codes covering two groups: the "frontier" manufacturing industries within the Industrial Strategy's growth-driving sectors, and the "foundational" industries that supply them. Each group has an electricity intensity threshold, calculated as total sectoral electricity consumption divided by gross value added. Frontier SIC codes must be over 0.9%, and foundational SIC codes over 2.7%. In practice, this means sectors like automotive, aerospace, steel, pharma, chemicals and semiconductors.

Only one of your registered SIC codes needs to be eligible, but it must be the one recorded at Companies House. If your code is out of date, it can be amended by filing a confirmation statement, which usually takes 24 to 48 hours. A code changed within the previous six months may attract additional scrutiny. Your SIC code should reflect what the business actually does.

3. Manufacture an eligible product in Great Britain

Sector eligibility is not enough on its own. You must also make goods that fall under an eligible 6-digit Harmonised System (HS) code, at the site you are claiming for. If you already use an 8 or 10-digit commodity code for exports, only the first six digits matter here. There is no requirement to import or export to qualify.

Where a process contributes to an eligible product, such as coating, the HS code of that product applies. You will need to confirm everything made at the site, eligible or not, and provide six consecutive months of evidence of eligible production.

4. Use at least 33 MWh of grid electricity a year

Each site must use at least 33 MWh of grid-supplied electricity annually. In practice, this is tested using your most recent six consecutive months of available data within the last 12 months, and the site must show more than 16.5 MWh over that period. The threshold sits well below Ofgem's 100 MWh microbusiness definition, so smaller manufacturers are not automatically excluded.

Only grid electricity counts. Behind-the-meter solar, CHP, and on-site wind are outside the scheme and must be excluded from your calculations. So, a site using 1,000 MWh in total, of which 300 MWh comes from its own solar panels, has 700 MWh in scope.

Shared sites and meters need particular care. Only your share of the meter counts, and the responsibility for evidencing it sits with the applicant, not the landlord. Speaking to the meter owner early is sensible. Where a site makes a mix of eligible and ineligible products, the relief is pro-rated. Supporting activity such as lighting, compressed air, and HVAC counts, provided it genuinely supports the eligible product.

The government applies a banded pro-rating model to mixed-use manufacturers:

• 25% or less of electricity used for eligible manufacturing: 0% exemption
• More than 25% but less than 50%: 50% exemption
• 50% or more: 100% exemption

Why the evidence matters as much as eligibility

Meeting the criteria is only half the task. Applications cannot be amended once submitted, and each legal entity can make only one application a year (covering as many sites as needed). Businesses will need six consecutive months of electricity bills, MPANs for each site, and records showing what is manufactured there. Where a meter is shared with another business, you will also need to evidence your proportion of it.

Genuinely eligible businesses can miss out simply because they start gathering evidence too late.

What happens next

Eligibility decisions are expected in January 2027. The Renewables Obligation and Feed-in Tariff exemptions begin in April 2027, and the Capacity Market exemption follows in October 2027. Once granted, the exemption lasts five years, subject to annual declarations and a full review after year two.

If you think your business may qualify, or you are unsure where you stand, Energy Relief Vault can help you find out before the window closes. There are no upfront fees to check your position.

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