In the case of United States v. Virginia Electric & Power Co., 1960, the U.S Supreme Court ruled in favor of the government, affirming that a public utility company was subject to federal anti-trust laws. The court held that Virginia Electric and Power Company (VEPCO), which had been granted monopoly status by state law, could still be prosecuted under federal antitrust legislation for attempting to monopolize power supply in areas outside its designated service area. VEPCO argued it was immune from such prosecution due to its state-sanctioned monopoly status within certain regions; however, this argument was rejected by the court on grounds that immunity did not extend beyond those specific regions. This decision reinforced the supremacy of federal law over state law when it comes to regulating interstate commerce.

In the dissenting opinion for United States v. Virginia Electric & Power Co., it was argued that the majority's decision to uphold a Federal Power Commission order requiring Virginia Electric & Power Company (VEPCO) to sell power at wholesale rates set by federal authorities, rather than state-set retail rates, overstepped its jurisdiction. The dissent contended that VEPCO was not engaged in interstate commerce as their electricity sales were confined within Virginia and thus should be subject only to state regulation. They further asserted that even if some of this energy originated from out-of-state sources, this did not automatically convert all of VEPCO's operations into an interstate business. Therefore, they believed the Federal Power Act did not apply here and criticized the majority for expanding federal authority beyond constitutional limits while undermining states' rights.