Who Qualifies?

Core criteria

• Registered at Companies House
• Operate within an eligible manufacturing SIC sector (the government's eligible SIC and HS code list, version 3, 25 August 2026, is the final list for 2027)
• Manufacture eligible HS-coded products in Great Britain
• Use at least 33 MWh of grid-supplied electricity annually at the manufacturing site
• Apply once per legal entity in the window; one application can cover several sites, and it cannot be amended after submission

How much the exemption is worth

The exemption is banded by how much of a site’s electricity is used for eligible manufacturing, so the headline figure of up to 25% is the maximum for a fully exempt site rather than a typical outcome. The government's announcement of 15 April 2026 put the reduction at around £35 to £40 per MWh of eligible electricity; that figure is an estimate from the announcement, not from the applicant guidance. The exemption is banded: 25% or less of a site's electricity used for eligible manufacturing gives no exemption, more than 25% but under 50% gives 50%, and 50% or more gives 100%. The Government decides eligibility and the amount.

Electricity evidence

Six consecutive months of evidence is required. The government also publishes a free eligibility checker, which gives an indication only and does not result in a decision. More than 16.5 MWh over that six-month period is used as the proxy for the 33 MWh annual threshold.

Take the Free Eligibility Check →