UK households struggling to pay their energy bills are being given a tip from an Ofgem director on how to slash at least £100 from their energy bills. Neil Kenward is the interim director general of markets for the energy watchdog.

Speaking on the Making Money podcast, he said that finding out your energy consumption over the last year and shopping around on a price comparison website could save '£100 or more' on your bills. He said switching from a tariff which mirrored the energy price cap could easily save you money.

However, he did warn that it was always worth checking first as you may already be on a 'good tariff already' and having to pay an exit fee could make it an even less attractive option.

He said: "There is almost always a tariff in the market that will be cheaper than that and often £100 or more cheaper for an average household per year.

"Price comparison websites - the potentially tricky thing is you need to know roughly what your energy consumption is in order to get an accurate quote from a price comparison website.

"The best thing to do is look over a whole year because obviously you consume a lot more in the winter than the summer and you want to make sure you've captured that whole year's worth of consumption, but that's that's the right way to do it. And check what tariff you're on, you might be on a good tariff already.

"If you're already on a fixed tariff, you might have to pay an exit fee to leave, so it might not be worth doing that. But in normal times, people can save, usually over £100 versus the price cap, if they switch."

The energy price cap refers to the maximum amount a supplier can charge for a unit of energy and standing charge together. However, it does not limit the cost of your overall bill, which depends on how much actual energy you use.

There is still lingering concern over the price cap in the coming months. Brits had enjoyed a cut from £1,758 in the January-to-March cap to £1,477 in April to June as inflation fell. But US and Israeli strikes on Iran saw tensions flare in the Middle East, sending energy prices soaring. The vital Strait of Hormuz was also closed, causing a spike in oil prices.

That saw the July-to-September price cap increase to £1,663 per year - a 13 per cent rise. And it is feared that the October-to-November price cap will also rise, despite a memorandum of understanding (MOU) being signed between the US and Iran.

Although energy prices have fallen sharply, they are not yet at pre-war levels. The MOU is also looking increasingly shaky after both sides resumed military strikes earlier this week and Donald Trump said the ceasefire was 'over' and that Iran's leaders were 'scum'.