The U.S. Supreme Court case Broad River Power Company et al. v. South Carolina ex rel. Daniel, Attorney General (1930) revolved around the issue of whether a state could regulate rates charged by privately owned public utilities without violating the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution. The Broad River Power Company and other utility companies in South Carolina challenged an order from a state commission that reduced their electricity rates, arguing it was confiscatory and thus unconstitutional under federal law as it did not allow them to earn a reasonable return on their investment. However, after reviewing evidence about operating expenses, revenues and property values provided by both sides during litigation at lower courts, Justice George Sutherland writing for majority found no reason to overturn those courts' decisions supporting rate reduction ordered by State Public Service Commission of South Carolina. He concluded that while states must respect private property rights when regulating public utilities’ prices they also have broad powers to protect consumers against unreasonable or extortionate charges; hence there is no constitutional impediment preventing states from ensuring just and reasonable rates are being charged.

In the dissenting opinion for Broad River Power Company et al. v. South Carolina ex rel. Daniel, Attorney General, 1930, Justice Stone argued that the majority's decision to uphold a state law requiring hydroelectric power companies to obtain a certificate of public convenience and necessity before constructing dams on navigable waters was an overreach of state authority into federal jurisdiction. He contended that such regulation should be left entirely in the hands of Congress under its Commerce Clause powers as it pertains directly to interstate commerce and navigation control which are exclusively federal matters. Furthermore, he expressed concern about potential conflicts between states if each were allowed to regulate these activities independently without any uniform national policy or oversight from Congress.