BICS reduces RO, FiT and Capacity Market costs for eligible GB manufacturers. Start with the value, then establish the SIC, product and site evidence needed before the 30 November deadline.
Enter your company, electricity figure and email to see an indicative value on screen.
The British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme exempts eligible UK manufacturers from the indirect costs of three government levies embedded in their electricity bills, the Renewables Obligation, Feed-in Tariffs, and Capacity Market charges.
Exemption from RO and FIT levy pass-through costs currently embedded in your electricity unit rate.
Live from April 2027Exemption from Capacity Market levy costs, which fund UK electricity capacity and security.
Live from October 2027A one-off payment in April 2027 covering support from April 2026, effectively a full year’s saving upfront.
~£38 / MWh savingEligibility is a two-part test: your business must operate in an eligible sector, defined by SIC code, and manufacture at least one eligible product, defined by HS6 code. Exactly 84 SIC codes and 1,641 HS6 product codes qualify, final for 2027. There is no test of your own electricity intensity, that screen has already been applied at sector level in selecting the eligible codes. What you must evidence is the share of each site's electricity used to make eligible products, which sets your exemption band.
Search all 84 eligible SIC codes and all 1,641 eligible HS6 product codes, from the Government's final 2027 eligibility list. Free, no sign-up.
Open the code lookup →Forging business? See the BICS guide for SIC 2550 forging companies →
The scheme provides exemptions from the Renewables Obligation, Feed-in Tariffs and Capacity Market costs. The commercial question is not only whether you qualify, but how much of each site's grid electricity supports eligible production.
Based on £38/MWh saving at 100% exemption. Actual value depends on site consumption, pro-rating percentage, and contract structure.
| Annual Consumption | Indicative Annual Saving |
|---|---|
| 500 – 1,999 MWh | £19,000 – £76,000 |
| 2,000 – 5,000 MWh | £76,000 – £190,000 |
| 5,000 – 20,000 MWh | £190,000 – £760,000 |
Indicative figures only. Subject to eligibility confirmation, pro-rating assessment, and final BICS levy rates. Contact Meridian for a site-specific estimate.
From initial eligibility check through to ongoing compliance, designed to maximise your BICS benefit and minimise your risk.
SIC and HS6 product code check. Indicative saving estimate. No obligation.
MPAN mapping, equipment audit, electricity contract review, production records.
Eligible consumption calculation, methodology documentation, sensitivity analysis.
Evidence pack assembly and DBT submission support. Oct–Nov 2026 window.
Confirming exemption flows correctly to your bill. Verifying the April 2027 saving.
Annual declarations, change monitoring, and 2-year recertification support.
Eligibility is the easy part. These are the four questions that determine how much money reaches your business, and when.
Your exemption is banded, not proportional. One percentage point at a boundary is worth half the benefit, and the same band sizes the backdated payment.
Read the guide →The longest lead-time task in the process, and the one everything else depends on. The mapping you submit is what your supplier bills against.
Read the guide →A one-off, Exchequer-funded bill credit backdated to April 2026, available only to businesses identified as eligible in the first year. There is no second chance at it.
Read the guide →The code lists are final for 2027. If your SIC is not on them, an appeal is the only way in, and the grounds have not yet been published.
Read the guide →If you have solar, CHP or a private wire: BICS relief attaches to grid imports only, so on-site generation shrinks the base the scheme pays out on. Government was warned three times during consultation and accepted the mechanism.
Read the analysis →Chemicals manufacturers: of the sixteen four-digit codes in the chemicals division, eight qualify for BICS and eight do not, and the line falls between making chemicals and formulating them.
Read the analysis →The difference between 49 and 50 per cent of your site’s electricity is not one per cent of the benefit. It is half of it, and the same band sizes the one-off backdated payment you can only claim in the first year.
The Readiness & Pre-Submission Review checks the applicant entity, sites, MPANs, pro-rating logic, Supercharger overlap and evidence gaps before you submit an application that cannot later be amended.
Independent review covering eligibility, indicative pro-rating band per site, value, MPAN/site mapping, Supercharger overlap, evidence gaps and a pre-submission checklist.
Review my site →If your business operates in an eligible manufacturing sector, we can tell you quickly whether BICS applies and give you an indicative saving estimate, at no cost and with no obligation.
The Year 1 window opens 1 October and closes 30 November 2026. Applications should be complete when submitted because there is no opportunity to amend them afterwards.
Enter annual electricity spend or MWh to see an indicative saving first. If the number is material, continue to the eligibility questions and request a one-page site note.
Calculate the value →