Business Energy Advice Service (BEAS)
Register nowProviding SMEs with free energy assessments and grants up to £100,000
What does BEAS offer?
The Business Energy Advice Service (BEAS) is a pilot programme designed to help businesses save money and drive growth by providing free energy assessments and 50% match-funded grants.
There is no payback required, and BEAS is part of a broader government initiative aimed at reducing carbon emissions nationwide.
Regions running BEAS
Within the West Midlands Combined Authority area, this includes Birmingham, Solihull, Sandwell, Dudley, Walsall, Wolverhampton and Coventry.
Outside the West Midlands Combined Authority area, this includes Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and The Marches (Herefordshire, Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin).
Benefits of BEAS
The BEAS programme can help your business save energy, reduce production costs and lower carbon emissions by funding a variety of practical energy efficiency measures.
Register nowBEAS can help businesses fund energy improvements such as:
- Solar panels
- Improved Refrigeration
- Building Insulation
- Water management
- Recycling & Waste (compactors, balers & crushers)
- Ventilation (fans, distribution, destratification fans)
- Heating (replacement boilers, burners, heat pumps)
- Energy-efficient lighting (LED, controls, sensors)
Business eligibility criteria
To qualify for the BEAS programme, users must have an annual energy minimum gas/electricity consumption of 25,000 kWh.
Use our BEAS calulator to find out if you qualify.
Businesses must meet the following requirements:
Have fewer than 250 employees and a turnover less than £42 million, or balance sheet total less than £36 million.
Businesses must use at least 25,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy (electricity and/or gas) within 12 months. This varies from business to business, depending on energy usage and rates.
For example, if your electricity unit rate is 27.03p and the standing charge is 53.80p, using 25,000 kWh annually would cost approximately £6,800.
This includes partnerships with various business structures, such as startups, limited companies, and Community Interest Companies (CIC).
Your address must be used for business activities and registered with a Company House Number for Limited Companies or a Company Registration Number (CRN) for CICs.
Your business must not operate from a residential address.
The individual or business entity is responsible for energy payments.
Must be officially registered/active for at least 12 months and there should be evidence of income, expenses, or transactions over the period.
BEAS Energy Usage Calculator
Businesses interested in registering for BEAS must use at least 25,000 kWh of energy annually. To assist with this, the Energy Usage Calculator provides an estimate of their energy consumption in kilowatt-hours (kWh) for both electricity and gas.
How to use
- For the most accurate results, users should input their unit rates and standing charges. However, if these details are not available, the calculator will automatically apply indicative rates to provide a rough estimate*.
- When registering for BEAS, please have your energy bill information ready to provide the most accurate energy usage figures.
*This calculator provides an estimated energy usage based on the information entered. If standing charges and unit rates are not provided, indicative rates will be applied. Energy rates vary by business, location, and other factors, so users should refer to their actual rates for precise calculations. This tool is intended as a guide only and should not be relied upon for exact energy usage assessments.
You must enter either your average monthly spend or usage for electricity, gas, or both.
It looks like your business meets the requirements!
Please register now.
Before applying you will need:
- Company House Number (for Limited Companies) or a Company Registration Number (for CICs)
- Business energy bills to provide accurate energy usage information.
It seems your business does not meet the minimum requirements.
Please check you energy bill to check your business energy usage and to confirm if you're eligible for BEAS.
Our support doesn't stop here however, explore alternative ways we can assist your business growth.
Electricity
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Gas
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How it works
1. Register - Start by completing a registration form online.
Register now2. Free Energy Assessment - A report will be made after an on-site review of your business with energy efficiency recommendations.
3. Grant Application - You will have the option to apply for a grant to fund the recommendations within the report
This will be issued through the relevant local authority relating to business site location.
"I was delighted by the depth of insights gained from the free business energy assessment provided.
The recommendations the assessment provided were not only practical but should also lead to a noticeable reduction in our energy costs."
- Mike Leach, Alpha-Rowen Managing Director
Read full story
"The programme is a fantastic opportunity to get independent advice as to what are the best options for energy and cost reduction for your business."
- Steve Walters, Brockhouse Group Director/Owner
Read full story"Reducing our energy costs and decarbonising the business are the two greatest long-term challenges for our business.
We are pleased to be working with BEAS on this journey and for their guidance in securing the grants that have helped us implement a micro metering solution and make the improvements to improve the thermal efficiency of one of our brick kiln roofs."
- Alex Patrick-Smith, Dreadnought Tiles Executive Chairman
Read full story"We were facing a significant increase in our gas tariff after our fixed rate came to an end so the idea of making energy efficient improvements appealed.
We agreed to have the survey and were pleasantly surprised with the recommendations and resulting savings we could achieve, having 50% match funding was a great opportunity to make these savings a reality."
- Lisa Whitehouse, Tender Years Day Nursery Owner
"I completely endorse this initiative, as it has made a real difference in our approach to energy efficiency.
From the start, the team has been incredibly supportive, guiding us every step of the way and making the entire process easy to navigate."
- Dawn Richardson, Ramsden & Whale Director
"The energy assessment was thorough and gave us a clear pathway to reduce our energy consumption step by step.
It told us were we were performing well and where we could improve. It was a very worthwhile exercise."
- Garry Plant, Thomas Howse General Manager
"The work we did together helped us highlight the best value target to reduce energy consumption and support our grant funding application.
We are keen to engage in similar schemes going forward and hope we yield the same success."
- Dr Indy Rama, Bloomsbury Glass Operations Director
"They took an analysis of unproductive energy use and monitored half hourly data. This gave a clear indication of significant wasted energy.
They also helped us in the grant application process which made the whole process of application for funding rather painless."
- Tony Sartorius, Alucast Chairman
"We are grateful that a part of this programme is the accessibility and the quality of technical support provided by the partners delivering the programme.
Professional advice and support have meant reinforcing our confidence in our sustainability journey"
- Yianno Koumi, Love Joes Head of Business Information
"We saw an advert for the BEAS scheme and decided to apply. After our application was approved, we received a free energy assessment which provided us with several recommendations to make our business more energy efficient. We decided to implement these changes and applied for the full £100,000 funding.
We highly recommend the BEAS programme to any business considering a move towards greater sustainability."
- Adrian Edwards, Lasor Process Group Special Projects Manager
"We have identified 5 areas of savings ranging from improving monitoring and reporting through upgrading lighting and heating systems to installing more efficient injection moulding machines.
Working with an experienced company like Pro Enviro we have seen many benefits of the program and hope to make more savings in the future."
- Martin Dudley, Thomas Dudley Chairman
BEAS news and case studies
Ready to apply?
You will need:
- Your Company House Number (for Limited Companies) or a Company Registration Number (for CICs)
- Energy bill information
FAQ
Small Businesses based in the West Midlands from all sectors are eligible for consideration, except for:
- Forestry, fishing and agriculture (Although businesses may be eligible for DEFRA schemes).
- Charities (limited companies are eligible to apply).
- Sports organisations (although businesses like gyms can apply).
- Activities involving pornography or clairvoyance.
- Any business activity that is illegal, or deemed unsuitable, for public support by West Midlands Combined Authority.
Once your business receives an energy report, you may receive a recommendation to apply for a grant.
However, it is not mandatory to apply for an energy grant if you choose not to proceed.
For a standard business application, it takes typically a couple of days for someone to get in touch and about a month to arrange an assessment. The initial report can take 2-3 months, and the grant application can take up to 3 months.
For energy-intensive applications, the process from the initial report to the grant application can take up to 6 months.
Yes, businesses can choose to fund just a few of your report’s recommendations.
After applying, you need to wait 12 months before you can reapply to the BEAS programme.
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