An electrode is provided at a distal end of a catheter and dimensioned for deployment within a renal artery. A deformable cover of the electrode incorporates a force-activatable conduction apparatus. The cover is configured to conduct electrical energy only through a region or regions of the cover subject to deformation due to contact with a wall of the target vessel. The electrical energy is sufficient to ablate perivascular renal nerves proximate the deformed region or regions of the electrode cover. The cover is configured to prevent conduction of electrical energy through the cover in the absence of a deformation force applied to the cover.