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.