United States Supreme Court Cases & Opinions

U.S. Supreme Court

Illinois Nat. Gas Co. v. Central Illinois P.S.C., 314 U.S. 498 (1942)

Illinois Natural Gas Co. v. Central Illinois Public Service Co.

No. 100

Argued December 19, 1941

Decided January 5, 1942

314 U.S. 498

Syllabus

1. A corporation, engaged within a State in the business of piping natural gas and selling it wholesale to distributors, whose supply of gas comes from sources outside of the State and moves in continuous streams from the pipeline of an affiliate at the state border to points where the corporation delivers it to its customers, is subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal Power Commission under the Natural Gas Act of June 21, 1938, and cannot be required by state

Page 314 U. S. 499

authority to extend its facilities and make sales in an area already served by another natural gas company similarly engaged and subject to the Act when no certificate of public convenience and necessity for such proposed extension and sales has been granted by the Federal Power Commission under § 7(c) of the statute. P. 314 U. S. 508.

2. It is unnecessary to determine whether the interstate commerce comes to an end when the company reduces the gas pressure before delivery into the service pipes of distributors, so that the sales to distributors are intrastate in character, since the extension of the company's facilities as proposed in this case is so related to interstate commerce as to come within the Congressional power to regulate not only interstate commerce itself, but also those matters which materially affect such commerce. P. 314 U. S. 509.

375 Ill. 634, 32 N.E.2d 157, reversed.

Appeal from a judgment affirming a judgment of the Illinois Circuit Court which had sustained on appeal an order of the Illinois Commerce Commission. The order required the appellant to supply another company with natural gas and to make pipeline connections for that purpose.

Page 314 U. S. 501