A new government scheme opening October 2026 will exempt eligible UK manufacturers from a substantial portion of their electricity levy costs. Meridian helps you navigate it.
The government checker tells you if you qualify. Ours tells you what it's worth and what evidence you'll need.
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, taken directly from the Government's final Annex A of 8 July 2026. Free, no sign-up.
Open the code lookup →
British industry pays some of the highest electricity costs in the world, inflated by carbon and renewable levies layered onto every unit. BICS exempts eligible energy-intensive manufacturers from a substantial share of those charges.
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 →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 Audit tells you where each site sits, what it is worth, and what evidence you need, before you submit a figure you cannot withdraw.
Two-page report covering eligibility, indicative pro-rating band per site, value of the exemption and backdated payment, evidence gaps and a dated action list.
See what is included →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 window opens 1 October 2026 and closes 30 November. Preparation typically takes 2–3 months. The sooner we start, the better positioned you’ll be.
Enter your company details and electricity use, and the checker returns your indicative annual saving, your position on each eligibility test, and an estimate of the one-off backdated payment you lose if you miss the first window.
Start the free check →