What is BICS? 10,000 businesses could cut electricity costs by 25%

The British Industrial Competitive Scheme (BICS) could reduce electricity costs by up to 25% for around 10,000 UK businesses, according to the government. Are you one of them?

Energy-intensive industries have faced significant energy cost volatility in recent years, making budgeting and long-term planning more difficult.

• Check whether your business is eligible for BICS on GOV.UK.

The new scheme won’t take the uncertainty out of global markets, but it will make eligible businesses exempt from various other schemes associated with business energy, reducing costs.

The scheme is open for applications, but the deadline is coming up on 30th November. We’re here to help you understand what it is, and whether your business could take advantage of it.

In this article:

• Learn about the British Industrial Competitive Scheme (BICS).
• Understand who is eligible to receive BICS.
• Discover how BICS could reduce your business energy bills.

What is the British Industrial Competitive Scheme (BICS)?

The British Industrial Competitive Scheme (BICS) is a government-backed energy support scheme designed to cut energy bills for more than 10,000 businesses in various manufacturing industries.

Eligible businesses will be exempt from the indirect costs of three electricity schemes:

• Renewables Obligation (RO): A scheme that requires suppliers to source a proportion of their electricity from renewable sources.
• Feed-in Tariffs (FiTs): A scheme that pays businesses for generating renewable electricity and, in some cases, exporting surplus power back to the grid.
• Capacity Market (CM): A scheme that pays electricity generators and storage providers to guarantee capacity is available when needed, helping maintain security of supply during periods of high demand.

How much will BICS reduce my business energy bill?

Exempting businesses from the above schemes could save around £35-40 per MWh according to GOV.UK. It is expected this could equate to 25% of your electricity bill.

The scheme is expected to save businesses up to £600 million on their energy bills.

Actual savings will vary depending on a site's electricity consumption and the proportion of costs currently associated with these schemes.

Who is eligible to receive BICS?

Businesses can check their eligibility for BICS on GOV.UK.

Sectors that could benefit include manufacturers and heavy industrial sites. Eligibility depends on site-specific energy usage and government criteria.

Businesses must use at least 33 megawatt-hours (MWh) of grid-supplied electricity per year to qualify.

The level of exemption depends on the proportion of a site's electricity consumption that qualifies under the scheme. Sites that use:

• Up to 25% of eligible electricity will receive no exemption.
• Over 25%, under 50% of eligible electricity will receive 50% exemption.
• Over 50% of eligible electricity will receive 100% exemption.

Approximately 10,000 businesses across Great Britain will be eligible to receive BICS.

The scheme was initially designed to target 7,000 organisations, but this has been expanded by 40% to include a further 3,000.

When can I apply for BICS?

The process of identifying eligible businesses started on 1^st October 2026.

• 1st October 2026 – 30th November 2026: Businesses are invited to provide information to DBT to support identification of eligibility.
• 1st October 2026 – 8th January 2027: DBT will assess eligibility for businesses and will aim to confirm all eligible businesses by 8th January 2027 for Year 1 of the scheme.
• 17^th November 2026 – 1st April 2027: Once eligible businesses begin being confirmed, electricity suppliers will have until April 2027 to process exemptions for eligible businesses.

How we can help

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