← Insights

A 25% Cut in Electricity Costs Sounds Significant. But What Is Your Business Still Wasting?

A 25% Cut in Electricity Costs Sounds Significant. But What Is Your Business Still Wasting?

The British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme could reduce electricity costs for thousands of eligible UK manufacturers. However, lower electricity prices do not automatically create a more energy-efficient business.

If equipment is running unnecessarily, controls are poorly configured or energy use is not being monitored properly, that waste will continue—regardless of the price paid per unit.

For manufacturers, this is an ideal opportunity to consider both sides of the equation: the cost of the energy being purchased and the amount of energy the site actually needs.

What is the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme?

Applications for the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme, commonly referred to as BICS, opened on 1 October 2026.

The scheme is intended to help eligible manufacturing businesses in England, Scotland and Wales by providing exemptions from certain electricity policy costs. The Government estimates that qualifying businesses could see their electricity costs reduced by as much as 25%.

More than 10,000 businesses may be eligible, including manufacturers operating in sectors such as automotive, chemicals, food production, glass and other energy-intensive industries.

To qualify, a business must meet the scheme’s requirements, which include:

  • Being registered with Companies House.
  • Operating within an eligible manufacturing sector.
  • Manufacturing eligible products in Great Britain.
  • Using at least 33 MWh of grid-supplied electricity per year at each qualifying site.

The current application window closes at 11:59pm on 30 November 2026.

Why lower energy prices should not reduce the focus on efficiency

A reduction in electricity costs is clearly welcome news for qualifying manufacturers. For sites with significant consumption, the financial impact could be substantial.

However, a lower bill can also make existing inefficiencies less obvious.

Consider a site using 500,000 kWh of electricity each year. If 10% of that consumption is unnecessary, the business is wasting 50,000 kWh annually. Reducing the unit cost of electricity makes that waste cheaper, but it does not remove it.

The business is still:

  • Paying for energy it does not need.
  • Producing avoidable carbon emissions.
  • Placing unnecessary demand on its equipment.
  • Increasing its exposure to future price changes.

Support with electricity costs and practical energy-efficiency measures should therefore work together—not replace one another.

Where could manufacturers be wasting energy?

Energy waste is not always caused by one obvious problem. It is often spread across multiple systems, operating practices and pieces of equipment.

Common examples include:

  • Machinery continuing to run during breaks or outside production hours.
  • Compressed-air leaks and systems operating at unnecessarily high pressures.
  • Heating, ventilation and cooling systems working against one another.
  • Old or inefficient motors, pumps and fans.
  • Poorly configured timers, thermostats and building controls.
  • Lighting operating in empty or naturally well-lit areas.
  • High overnight or weekend baseload consumption.
  • A lack of sub-metering, making it difficult to identify where energy is being used.

Individually, some of these issues can appear relatively minor. Across an entire facility and over a full year, however, they can represent a considerable cost.

What should eligible manufacturers do now?

1. Check the eligibility criteria

Businesses should review the official BICS guidance carefully, including the qualifying sector, product and electricity-consumption requirements.

2. Gather the required information

Applicants may need to provide site MPAN details, recent electricity bills and evidence of the products manufactured at each location. Gathering this information early can help avoid delays as the deadline approaches.

3. Establish an accurate energy baseline

Understand how much energy the site uses during production, shutdown periods, nights and weekends. Looking only at the total annual bill may hide important patterns.

4. Identify avoidable consumption

An energy audit can reveal where energy is being wasted and distinguish quick operational improvements from longer-term investment opportunities.

5. Create a prioritised improvement plan

Not every recommendation needs to involve major capital expenditure. A practical plan should separate:

  • No-cost and low-cost operational improvements.
  • Maintenance and control adjustments.
  • Projects requiring investment.
  • Measures that need further monitoring or assessment.

This enables businesses to focus first on actions that offer the strongest operational and financial case.

What if your business is not eligible?

Businesses that do not qualify for BICS should not assume that nothing can be done about their energy costs.

Although the scheme is aimed at specific manufacturing sectors, the underlying opportunity applies to almost every commercial and industrial site: energy that is not used does not need to be purchased.

Understanding consumption patterns, addressing waste and improving controls can help organisations reduce costs, support carbon-reduction targets and make future investment decisions based on reliable evidence.

The bigger opportunity

BICS could provide valuable relief for eligible manufacturers, but the strongest long-term position comes from combining financial support with better energy management.

A business that reduces both its electricity price and its unnecessary consumption will be better protected against future market changes than one relying on lower prices alone.

The important question is therefore not simply:

“How much could the scheme save us?”

It is also:

“How much energy are we currently buying that we do not actually need?”

How Green Wing Energy Solutions can help

Green Wing Energy Solutions helps organisations understand how energy is being used across their buildings and operations.

Through practical energy audits, consumption analysis and clearly prioritised recommendations, we identify areas of avoidable waste and help businesses develop realistic plans for reducing energy use and costs.

If you would like a clearer picture of where your organisation is using—and potentially wasting—energy, speak to our team about arranging an energy audit.

Contact Green Wing Energy Solutions to start identifying the opportunities across your site.

Official information

This article provides general information only. Businesses should review the official eligibility criteria and application guidance before applying.

Arrange an Energy Review Start with a free 15-minute discovery call.

Next step

See what your estate is really doing with energy.

Arrange an Energy Review

Start with a free 15-minute discovery call.