A $\mathbb{T}$-gain graph, $Φ= (G, \varphi)$, is a graph in which the function $\varphi$ assigns a unit complex number to each orientation of an edge, and its inverse is assigned to the opposite orientation. The associated adjacency matrix $ A(Φ) $ is defined canonically. The energy $ \mathcal{E}(Φ) $ of a $ \mathbb{T} $-gain graph $ Φ$ is the sum of the absolute values of all eigenvalues of $ A(Φ) $. We study the notion of energy of a vertex of a $ \mathbb{T} $-gain graph, and establish bounds for it. For any $ \mathbb{T} $-gain graph $ Φ$, we prove that $2τ(G)-2c(G) \leq \mathcal{E}(Φ) \leq 2τ(G)\sqrt{Δ(G)}$, where $ τ(G), c(G)$ and $ Δ(G)$ are the vertex cover number, the number of odd cycles and the largest vertex degree of $ G $, respectively. Furthermore, using the properties of vertex energy, we characterize the classes of $ \mathbb{T} $-gain graphs for which $ \mathcal{E}(Φ)=2τ(G)-2c(G) $ holds. Also, we characterize the classes of $ \mathbb{T} $-gain graphs for which $\mathcal{E}(Φ)= 2τ(G)\sqrt{Δ(G)} $ holds. This characterization solves a general version of an open problem. In addition, we establish bounds for the energy in terms of the spectral radius of the associated adjacency matrix.