British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS)
The British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS) is a UK government initiative launching in April 2027 to cut electricity bills by up to 25% for over 10,000 eligible manufacturing businesses.
Key Details of BICS
The Goal
Lower industrial electricity costs in Great Britain to match international competitors by exempting qualifying firms from the indirect costs of the Renewables Obligation (RO), Feed-in Tariffs (FiT), and the Capacity Market (CM).
Savings
Estimated at roughly £35 to £40 per megawatt-hour (MWh), saving the industrial sector up to £600 million per year.
Timeline
Applications for the first year open between 1 st October 2026 and 30 th November 2026 (or early January 2027 depending on guidance tracks), with financial relief applied starting April 2027. An additional one-off payment is planned for 2027 to cover support backdated for certain sectors.
Eligibility Criteria
To qualify, a manufacturing site must fulfil four core requirements:
Companies House Registration
The business must be officially registered on Companies House.
Eligible Sector
Must operate in targeted frontier industries (such as the Industrial Strategy ‘IS-8’ growth sectors like aerospace, automotive, pharma, and clean tech) or foundational supply-chain industries defined by specific Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes.
Eligible Products
Must manufacture qualifying goods defined by Harmonised System (HS) product codes.
Minimum Electricity Usage
Must consume at least 33 MWh of grid-supplied electricity per year at the specific manufacturing site. Sites must also pass an electricity intensity threshold relative to Gross Value Added.
