British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme: business guidance
This guidance explains how to apply for support through the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS) ahead of applications opening on 1 October 2026.
Applies to England, Scotland and Wales
Documents
Details
This guidance covers:
- who is eligible
- how relief is calculated
- the evidence you may need to provide
- your ongoing obligations if you receive support
BICS will reduce electricity costs for eligible manufacturing businesses by providing exemptions from the renewables obligation (RO), feed-in tariffs (FIT) and capacity market (CM).
Updates to this page
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- added a clarification that HS Codes should be interpreted in line with the UK Tariff (version 1.31, dated 3 March 2026)
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- clarified that BMUs can be included in the scheme - made clear you need to include ineligible activity that happens on the site when doing pro-rating - updated Windsor Framework content - updated appeals content - updated changes in circumstances during the application phase content - added advice on sensitive information - updated Supercharger content to tell businesses they will not have confirmed exemption levels in January - updated what to do for different Companies House statuses - added information about what happens if the portal goes down - provided clarification around information handling - added an explanation about shared meters and reconciliation - added that businesses will need their Companies House number to verify applications - updated information for mailed applications - added clarity on sub-metering
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First published.
Update history
2026-10-02 13:35
added a clarification that HS Codes should be interpreted in line with the UK Tariff (version 1.31, dated 3 March 2026)
2026-10-01 10:16
clarified that BMUs can be included in the scheme made clear you need to include ineligible activity that happens on the site when doing pro-ratingupdated Windsor Framework contentupdated appeals contentupdated changes in circumstances during the application phase contentadded advice on sensitive information updated Supercharger content to tell businesses they will not have confirmed exemption levels in January updated what to do for different Companies House statusesadded information about what happens if the portal goes down provided clarification around information handling added an explanation about shared meters and reconciliation added that businesses will need their Companies House number to verify applicationsupdated information for mailed applications added clarity on sub-metering
2026-08-10 12:00
First published.