The non-ionic polyoxyethylene chain-containing surfactant Triton X-100 (TX-100) forms well-defined micelles and reverse micelles in aqueous and hydrocarbon media, respectively. Nonradiative energy transfer between two charged fluorescent dyes, fluorescein (FL) and acridine orange (AO) has been used to probe the micelles and reverse micelles of TX-100. In the energy transfer system employed, FL acts as the donor and AO as the acceptor. This is borne out by the fluorescence spectral data. Time-resolved studies further corroborate the steady-state results. As the fluorescence emission spectra of the two dyes show a considerable amount of overlap, they are resolved into individual donor and acceptor components using the principal component analysis (PCA) method. This study also focuses on the more important role played by hydrophobic forces (compared with electrostatic interactions) in promoting energy transfer between charged species in micellar media.