British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS): changes to the Renewables Obligation (Scotland) Order 2009
Overview
The Scottish Government is committed to maintaining a competitive and resilient industrial base, but persistently high electricity prices have increasingly undermined investment, productivity and employment, particularly in manufacturing. While the long‑term solution to energy security and affordability lies in the transition to clean power, as set out in the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, there is a clear need to address the immediate cost pressures facing industry and stifling growth.
Last June, the UK Government’s Modern Industrial Strategy announced the new British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS) designed to bring British electricity costs more in line with other economies in Europe. BICS will support eligible manufacturing frontier industries within ‘IS-8’ manufacturing sectors, and manufacturing foundational industries which provide key inputs to the frontier industries, who meet a certain threshold of electricity intensity.
As such, this consultation seeks feedback on the proposed regulatory changes to implement a Renewables Obligation exemption for BICS eligible businesses in relation to the Renewables Obligation Scotland (ROS).
The British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS) will exempt eligible businesses from the indirect costs of the Renewables Obligation (RO), Feed in Tariff and the Capacity Market from 2027.
Please note this consultation covers Scotland. A parallel consultation, run by UK Government between 16 April and 14 May covered proposed regulatory changes to the Renewable Obligation for England and Wales, regulatory changes to the Feed-in Tariff and Capacity Market for Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) and proposed scheme delivery.
Read the consultation paper. The consultation paper contains full background information for this consultation. You may find it useful to read or refer to while responding.
Consultation questions preview
The consultation questions are included here for your reference. Please click 'Begin consultation' at the bottom of this page to proceed.
- Do you agree with the proposal to amend the ROS order to exempt BICS-eligible businesses from up to 100% (subject to pro-rating) of ROS costs passed onto them by electricity suppliers? Please provide reasons for your response.
- Do you agree with the proposed changes to the arrangements for setting the obligation level for Scotland for 2027 to 2028, including the proposal to publish an adjusted obligation level, which accounts for the BICS exemption before 1 April 2027? Please provide reasons for your response, including whether you consider the notice period to be sufficient.
Useful information about responding to this consultation
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