When it comes to energy, knowledge really is power. It’s the power to save you money, to reduce your electricity and gas usage and to protect the planet.
With Yuno Energy you really do know, because the country’s most digitally innovative provider puts app-based energy management in the palm of your hand.
As a result, you know exactly what to expect when your bill comes in.
Thanks to features such as predictive billing, usage insights and flexible payment options, Yuno Energy customers never suffer the nasty shock of surprise bills.
RM Block
It’s just one of the reasons the company has been so successful since it was launched in 2023 by Cathal Fay, the experienced Irish energy entrepreneur who also cofounded PrepayPower.
As well as offering a highly intuitive, easy-to-use app, the fully Irish-owned energy company also has a Dublin-based support team of real people behind it, delivering a responsive, local customer service.
By actively listening to customer feedback and using it to power continuous improvement of its products, app features and overall service, the company has grown to over 80,000 new customers.
It’s also why the company has won so many customer service awards, a reflection of Fay’s relentless focus on creating a supportive and engaging environment for staff too, as the business expands.
The company was named one of the top 10 best workplaces in the super large category in Ireland this year, certified by Great Place to Work, as well as a best workplace for women.
The idea for Yuno Energy was sparked by the energy crisis that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, says Fay.
“During that period costs became so high that people became more actively engaged in energy. We already had an idea of how we wanted to do things differently and, in talking to customers, we came up with ways to approach it,” he says.
That consumer research directly informed Yuno Energy’s value proposition.
“One message we got was that there was a lack of awareness in relation to the cost of energy and why it was people were spending as much as they were. Most people had no idea how much they had paid on their last bill, let alone knew how much their next one might be,” explains Fay.
Typically, old bills were buried either at the bottom of old emails, or drawers, he says.
“Customers also found it difficult to interact with their supplier. When they did want to engage, there were limited opportunities to interact online or via an app, and call centres were limited to certain hours,” he adds.
When people did get through to their supplier, his research suggested energy users weren’t impressed with the customer service they received.
“We wanted to address these issues,” says Fay. He likens the company’s customer focused offering to the kind of challenger brands that have already transformed personal banking, where legacy banks have been increasingly usurped by user-friendly fintech newcomers such as Revolut.
“We were inspired by some of the finance disrupters that had come in with a good digital offering, but we are also very different from them in that we also wanted to back that up with friendly agents and friendly customer support. So that’s what we set about trying to address,” says Fay.
‘We put everything in the palm of your hand for you. The app becomes a one-stop shop. It’s all there, available for you, when you want it’
When Yuno Energy launched in 2023 competitive pricing quickly helped establish the brand, but it is its top-notch service that ensures customers stay.
“Customers are attracted by our competitive pricing and the opportunity to save, but we really need them to appreciate the value of the service in order to stay with us,” says Fay.
Like any energy provider, it can’t control wholesale costs. “But what we can do is give customers as much visibility about their energy usage as possible,” he explains.
“With our app, you can see exactly what your usage is at any hour of the day. I know from talking to my own neighbour, for example, that just seeing how much using his tumble dryer at a particular time costs encourages him to hang his clothes on the line instead. That’s the kind of cost visibility we’re talking about,” he says.
Yuno Energy’s app helps users to track “vampire energy”, the electricity consumed by appliances on standby, or plugged in but not in use. By identifying this wasted power, the app helps consumers to adjust their behaviours and reduce their bills.
“At 3am in the morning, sure, your fridge and freezer need to be on, but the app shows your overall usage overnight, helping highlight the impact of things left on standby – and it all adds up,” he says.
Yuno Energy predicts how much electricity you will use in the next month and lets you know how much you will pay, based on historical meter data, offering customers a personalised, advance monthly amount, to avoid bill shock. If your usage reduces, so does your bill. Greater awareness of usage can also have a positive environmental impact, as reducing consumption not only lowers costs for customers but helps ease overall demand during times of energy pressure.
Customers can also actively avoid overspending by tracking themselves against Yuno’s prediction, using the app’s daily Forecast feature. “It gives you visibility,” he says.
They can select the monthly payment date that suits them, again via the app, and can see their expected bill building throughout the month.
As well as providing insights into usage and billing, the app also allows customers to engage with the company in numerous ways.
“We put everything in the palm of your hand for you. The app becomes a one-stop shop. It’s all there, available for you, when you want it,” he explains.
“That allows you to see your bills and to make a payment when you want. So, if you see you are spending a little more this month, you can make a payment there and then, to bring your bill down a little bit next month. Having the opportunity to do that makes it easier for people to deal with things as and when they can,” he explains.
“Backing all that up is the opportunity customers have to engage with our very friendly customer service team in Sandyford, Dublin. They are there, ready to deal with all queries in a friendly way.
“We know some customers are happier to call, so it’s good to be able to support that because we pride ourselves on our good customer service. Again, it’s because we like to do things a little differently.”
Join Yuno Energy now at yunoenergy.ie
