Briain Kelly

A trained journalist with over a decade’s experience in the energy industry, Briain has spent much of his career helping Irish households make sense of the energy market and highlighting the importance of switching suppliers.

Briain holds a Master’s in Journalism from the University of Galway, where he developed a strong eye for detail and an ability to rigorously fact-check every claim through primary and secondary research. His passion for covering the issues that matter most to people has shaped his career as an investigative reporter, as well as his current research on energy and consumer affairs.

Briain became editor-in-chief of Energy Efficiency Ireland in 2022, where he played an instrumental role in establishing the website as a leading source of information on renewable energy.

From the outset, he focused on making both the financial and environmental benefits of green energy clear to homeowners and businesses, covering everything from solar PV and heat pumps to EV charging and insulation. As editor, Briain was strong in his opposition to grant reductions, and advocated for more robust financial supports to accelerate Ireland’s green transition.

Since he created EnergySwitch, Briain has been at the forefront of consumer advocacy and the debate over how energy comparisons should work. He petitioned the CRU to change the rules governing how comparison sites carry out comparisons, which originally left no room for PCWs to incorporate solar generation, EVs, or heat pumps into estimated savings; even as uptake of renewables was skyrocketing.

As well as advocating for regulatory changes, Briain writes EnergySwitch’s in-depth, plain-English guides, covering everything from how switching works to how new technology changes a household’s bills. He strives to find new ways to help people switch with confidence.

The core values that Briain has developed over many years make up the three pillars of EnergySwitch.

• Consumers come first: We put savings at the heart of every switch. Potential savings should reflect the consumer’s current bills and how they use energy.

• Effortless switching: Everyone should be able to compare their current plan with every other available plan with ease. This shouldn’t take more than a few minutes.

• 100% transparency: We remain fully independent and impartial, never favouring one supplier over another, and nobody tells us what to write or advocate for.

Briain is committed to ensuring EnergySwitch continues to innovate with best-in-class technology centred around improving the user’s experience and protecting users’ data.

EnergySwitch was the first energy price comparison service in Ireland to be accredited by the CRU since 2017. The site is ISO-certified, and fully GDPR compliant, letting households enter detailed electricity and gas usage securely, so that their results reflect how they actually use energy rather than a generic average.