Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line Co. v. Public Service Commission of Indiana et al. (332 U.S. 507)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided December 15, 1947 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 332 U.S. 507 · 68 S. Ct. 190
- Docket
- No. 69
- Argued
- November 14, 1947
- Decided
- December 15, 1947
- Term
- October Term 1947
- Vote
- 8–0
- Majority author
- Justice Rutledge
- Issue area
- Federalism
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
How the Justices voted
- Majority
- Chief Justice Vinson, Justice Black, Justice Reed, Justice Frankfurter, Justice Douglas, Justice Rutledge (wrote), Justice Burton
- Concurring in the judgment
- Justice R. H. Jackson
Opinion excerpt
Mr. Justice Rutledge delivered the opinion of the Court. Broadly the question is whether Indiana has power to regulate sales of natural gas made by an interstate pipe-line carrier direct to industrial consumers in Indiana. More narrowly we are asked to decide whether the commerce clause, Const. Art. I, § 8, by its own force forbids the appellee, Public Service Commission, to require appellant to file tariffs, rules and regulations, annual reports, etc., as steps in a comprehensive plan of regulation preliminary to possible exercise of jurisdiction over rates and service in such sales. Panhandle Eastern transports natural gas from Texas and Kansas fields into and across intervening states, including Indiana, to Ohio and Michigan. In Indiana it furnishes gas to local public utility distributing companies and municipalities. These in turn supply the needs of over 112,000 residential, commercial and industrial consumers. Since 1942 appellant also has sold gas in large amounts direct to Anchor-Hocking Glass Corporation for industrial consumption. Shortly before beginning this service appellant had informed a number of its customers, local distributing companies in Indiana, that it intended to render service directly to large industrial consumers wherever possible. Pursuant to that policy, since these proceedings began direct service has been extended to another big industrial…
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