The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio on March 10 ordered the state's electric distribution utilities to provide supply service to Entrust Energy Inc.'s retail customers.

The decision comes after the competitive electricity supplier informed Ohio's regulated utilities that it is "unable to meet its financial obligations to supply its customers with electricity," the commission, or PUCO, wrote in a March 10 news release.

Entrust Energy's 3,500 retail electricity customers in Ohio will be released from their contracts and automatically switched to their local distribution company, according to the commission.

"Ohio law requires electric and natural gas distribution utilities to serve as a 'provider of last resort' if a competitive supplier is no longer able to provide service for any reason," the PUCO said.

The Electric Reliability Council Of Texas Inc. on March 3 revoked Entrust Energy's right to participate in its wholesale power markets for failure to make payments and initiated a "mass transition" of its customers to larger suppliers.

Entrust, which owes nearly $234 million, is the second retailer the grid operator has banned from its markets following the blackouts and price spikes during the Texas deep freeze in February.