The government’s free checker will tell you whether you are eligible. It will not tell you which pro-rating band your site lands in, and that is the number that decides how much money you actually receive.
Below 25 per cent of a site’s electricity used for eligible production, you get nothing. Between 25 and 50 per cent, a 50 per cent exemption. At 50 per cent or above, 100 per cent. The difference between 49 and 50 per cent is not one per cent of the benefit, it is half of it.
The same banded percentage is used to calculate the one-off additional payment, which is available to first-year applicants only. So a site one point below a boundary loses half of the annual exemption and half of a lump sum it will never have another chance at.
The audit tells you where your sites sit, what that is worth, and what evidence you need to defend it. Applications close on 30 November 2026 with no late entry.
Your position against all four gates: Companies House registration, eligible SIC code, eligible HS6 product, and 33 MWh of grid-imported electricity. Checked against the Government’s final Annex A of 8 July 2026.
An indicative band for each site, and an explicit flag if a site sits near a 25 or 50 per cent boundary, where the evidence you submit changes the answer.
Annual exemption value per site at the Government’s stated £35 to £40 per MWh, plus an indicative sizing of the one-off additional payment at your band.
What you need to have in place before submitting, including the state of your MPAN to site mapping, which is consistently the longest lead time item and the one that holds up everything else.
A dated action list running to the 30 November deadline, with the items that have to start first identified.
It is not the application itself, not a submission to DBT, and not a guarantee of the band DBT will accept. It is an assessment of where you stand and what you need, done before you commit to a number you cannot withdraw.
Five things, and most of it is on a recent electricity bill. Send the form and I will confirm scope and fee before any work starts.
Not ready for the audit? Check your codes against the full eligible list first. Free, no sign-up.