United States v. Public Utilities Commission of California et al. (345 U.S. 295)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided April 6, 1953 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 345 U.S. 295 · 73 S. Ct. 706
- Docket
- No. 205
- Argued
- January 14, 1953
- Decided
- April 6, 1953
- Term
- October Term 1952
- Vote
- 8–0
- Majority author
- Justice Reed
- Issue area
- Federalism
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
How the Justices voted
- Majority
- Chief Justice Vinson, Justice Minton, Justice Clark, Justice Burton, Justice Douglas, Justice Reed (wrote)
- Concurring in the judgment
- Justice R. H. Jackson (wrote), Justice Black (wrote)
Opinion excerpt
Mr. Justice Reed delivered the opinion of the Court. Respondent California Electric Power Company produces electricity in California, partially by hydroelectric projects licensed under Part I of the Federal Power Act, 41 Stat. 1063, as amended by Title II of the Public Utility Act of 1935, 49 Stat. 838, 16 U. S. C. § 791a et seq., and markets the greater portion of it, subject to respondent Public Utilities Commission’s authority, in that State. The jurisdictional dispute which is our present concern relates only to certain power sales by the Company to the Navy Department and to Mineral County, Nevada, for consumption there. This power, following production, is transmitted at 55,000 volts to the Company’s Mill Creek substation in California, about 25 miles from the border, on its own lines. There it is figuratively taken over by the Navy and by the County, and delivered on their lines at the same high voltage to Hawthorne, Nevada, where it is stepped down for local distribution and consumption. The Navy’s power is used at its ammunition depot, largely in official industrial operations; between 15% and 29%, however, is distributed for consumption in the private households and enterprises of tenants at the Navy’s low-cost housing project nearby. These sales are metered individually and each purchaser is billed according to his own use. The power purchased by the County is all…
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