What Is the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS)? What UK Manufacturers Need to Know
The British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS) is one of the most significant pieces of energy policy for UK manufacturers in years. From April 2027, eligible businesses could reduce their electricity bills by up to 25%. Qualifying is not automatic, evidence requirements are specific, and the government has confirmed that six months of consumption data is needed to support an application. That data capture period has already started.
What Is the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme?
BICS is a government initiative that reduces electricity costs for eligible UK manufacturers by exempting them from certain policy-related charges on their electricity bills. Qualifying businesses will be exempt from the indirect costs of:
- The Renewables Obligation (RO)
- Feed-in Tariffs (FiT)
- The Capacity Market (CM), from later in 2027
These policy costs currently make up over a third of many commercial electricity bills. The government estimates BICS support could be worth £35 to £40 per MWh, with some manufacturers seeing bills fall by up to 25%.
The scheme forms part of the UK Modern Industrial Strategy. It was introduced because UK industrial electricity prices are among the highest in Europe, typically 50% higher than France and Germany and up to four times higher than the United States. BICS launches in April 2027, with a proposed one-off backdated payment also covering the period from April 2026, meaning eligible businesses who prepare now could benefit from backdated relief too.
The government has confirmed a one-off additional payment in April 2027 to effectively backdate support to April 2026. Businesses that establish eligibility early and have consumption data in place could benefit from this backdated relief in addition to ongoing savings from 2027.
Who Is Eligible for BICS?
Eligibility is not automatic. To qualify, a business must meet all three of the following criteria. Meeting just one or two is not sufficient.
| Eligibility Requirement | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Operate in an eligible manufacturing sector | Must be a frontier or foundational manufacturing industry as defined by the Industrial Strategy. Assessed using SIC4 codes. |
| Manufacture eligible products | Products must fall within approved categories, assessed using HS6 product codes. |
| Meet the electricity intensity threshold | Assessed at sector level, not individual business level. Frontier industries: above 0.9%. Foundational industries: above 2.7%. |
The electricity intensity threshold is assessed at sector level rather than individual business level. Whether your sector qualifies is determined by the government, but you still need to evidence how much of your site's electricity goes to eligible manufacturing activity.
Which Industries Could Be Eligible?
Examples of sectors that could qualify include:
- Advanced and automotive manufacturing
- Aerospace and defence
- Pharmaceuticals and life sciences
- Steel, metals and chemical manufacturing
- Plastics and recycling
- Clean energy technologies
- Nuclear fuel processing
- Cooling and ventilation equipment manufacturing
- Glass, ceramics and cement
Operating in one of these sectors does not automatically mean you qualify. The government assesses both your sector and the specific products you manufacture. Businesses manufacturing a mix of eligible and non-eligible products may receive partial support depending on the proportion of qualifying activity.
How Much Could You Save?
Support is assessed site by site and depends on what proportion of the site's electricity is consumed by eligible manufacturing activity.
For a manufacturer spending £500,000 per year on electricity, even a partial exemption on the policy cost element could represent significant savings over the lifetime of the scheme, which runs to 2035.
The Evidence Challenge and Why Monitoring Matters
To claim BICS support, businesses must provide details of all import Metering Point Administration Numbers (MPANs) for the site and evidence of the proportion of electricity consumed by eligible manufacturing activity versus offices, warehousing, canteens and other non-manufacturing areas.
The government has confirmed that six months of consumption data is needed to support a BICS application. With applications expected to open in Autumn 2026, that data capture period has effectively already begun.
Applications open Autumn 2026. Six months of data is required. If you do not have circuit-level monitoring in place today, you may not have sufficient evidence ready when applications open.
How Circuit-Level Monitoring Supports Your BICS Application
Without granular consumption data, manufacturers face a choice between manual estimates based on floor area or nameplate ratings, which are imprecise and open to challenge, or measured data from energy monitoring sensors.
Wireless sensors installed on manufacturing circuits and non-manufacturing circuits give you actual measured kWh data for every area of your site. The calculation then becomes straightforward:
That is not an estimate. It is measured data from calibrated sensors, significantly more defensible in an audit than a floor area calculation.
- Continuous, timestamped consumption data per circuit
- Clear separation of manufacturing vs non-manufacturing electricity use
- Six months of evidence automatically accumulated once installed
- Exportable data ready for your BICS application
It is also worth noting that a 2030 government review of the scheme may consider linking BICS eligibility to investments in energy efficiency and monitoring technologies. Getting monitoring in place before 2027 positions you well for any future changes to eligibility criteria.
The BICS Timeline
Government publishes final scheme design. Eligibility confirmed, backdated support to April 2026 announced.
Data capture period underway. Six months of consumption evidence needed for application. Monitoring should be in place now.
Applications open. Businesses with consumption data and eligibility evidence ready can apply.
BICS launches. Eligible businesses begin receiving electricity bill relief, plus one-off backdated payment covering April 2026 onwards.
Government scheme review. May consider linking eligibility to energy efficiency and monitoring investments.
Planned end date for the scheme.
How Enerlytix Can Help
At Enerlytix, we install wireless energy monitoring systems across manufacturing and industrial sites. Our sensors are installed onto existing supply cables. No connection to your IT network or WiFi is required with data shown in real-time.
Once installed, the system provides continuous, measured kWh data at circuit and machine level through a live cloud dashboard. That data directly supports your BICS application by evidencing the proportion of electricity consumed by eligible manufacturing activity across your site.
As qualified electrical power engineers, we help you understand what your energy data means for your business, not just provide a dashboard and leave you to work it out.
Applications open Autumn 2026. The data capture period has started.
Get monitoring in place now and have six months of evidence ready when applications open.
Talk to our teamFrequently Asked Questions
No. The scheme is targeted at specific manufacturing sectors and qualifying supply chain businesses. Eligibility depends on your sector, the products you manufacture and your site's electricity usage profile.
Yes. The scheme is not limited to large manufacturers. Eligibility is based on manufacturing activity and sector, not business size.
The government has confirmed that six months of consumption data is needed to support a BICS application. With applications opening in Autumn 2026, that data capture period has already started.
Yes. Eligibility is assessed on a site-by-site basis. One manufacturing site may qualify while another owned by the same business does not, depending on the activities and electricity usage at each location.
Yes. BICS applies across England, Scotland and Wales. It does not currently apply in Northern Ireland.
No. Businesses cannot receive support through both schemes for the same activities. The British Industry Supercharger generally provides higher support for the most electricity-intensive industries, while BICS covers a broader range of manufacturers at a lower intensity threshold.
We install wireless energy monitoring that automatically accumulates the consumption data you need to evidence your manufacturing electricity proportion. Get in touch to find out more.