Pinergy, a new pay-as-you-go energy company, has signed up Ireland and Munster rugby star Paul O'Connell to launch its "electricity you control" proposition.

In the three television executions of the campaign, O’Connell unexpectedly appears in households to take control of their inhabitants’ energy consumption and is seen using the Pinergy keypad, which shows customers how much electricity they are consuming in both euro and kilowatts.

As with pre-pay mobiles, Pinergy customers buy credit over the phone, online or in Payzone outlets.

They then apply the top-up at the keypad installed in their homes.

“Emergency credit” of €5 is included to give users time to top up, and Pinergy promises not to cut off services between 5pm and 9am from Monday to Friday or on weekends and bank holidays.

Installing metered electricity has traditionally been considered an extreme household budgeting step, but Pinergy's campaign seeks to reframe pay-as-you-go as a positive, environmentally friendly option that gives people the certainty of knowing what they're spending on energy. In one of the television ads, O'Connell is seen extolling the romantic virtues of candlelight to a canoodling couple.

The campaign's media buyer was Clear Blue Water and ads were created by Alan Metcalfe, creative director of the websites joe.ie and her.ie. Pinergy is fronted by corporate financier Enda Gunnell and O'Connell, who has just returned from the British and Irish Lions tour to Australia, is due to officially launch the company today.