Pacific Gas & Electric Co. et al. v. State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission et al.

Decided April 20, 1983. Byron Raymond White delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 81-1945 · 461 U.S. 190 (1983) · Cited 1,382 times

We don’t yet publish a summary of this opinion — read the official text below for the Court’s holding and reasoning.

How the Justices voted

Decided 9–0.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Rice v. Santa Fe Elevator Corp. · 331 U.S. 218 (1947)
• Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. · 435 U.S. 519 (1978)
• Florida Lime & Avocado Growers, Inc. v. Paul · 373 U.S. 132 (1963)
• Perez. v. Campbell · 402 U.S. 637 (1971)
• Abbott Laboratories v. Gardner · 387 U.S. 136 (1967)
• Hines v. Davidowitz · 312 U.S. 52 (1941)
• Duke Power Co. v. Carolina Environmental Study Group, Inc. · 438 U.S. 59 (1978)
• Fidelity Federal Savings & Loan Ass'n v. De La Cuesta · 458 U.S. 141 (1982)
• Regional Rail Reorganization Act Cases · 419 U.S. 102 (1974)
• First Iowa Hydro-Electric Cooperative v. Federal Power Commission · 328 U.S. 152 (1946)
• United States v. O'Brien · 391 U.S. 367 (1968)
• Bishop v. Wood · 426 U.S. 341 (1976)
• Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. v. Public Service Commission · 447 U.S. 557 (1980)
• Jackson v. Metropolitan Edison Co. · 419 U.S. 345 (1974)
• Jones v. Rath Packing Co. · 430 U.S. 519 (1977)
• Pennsylvania v. West Virginia · 262 U.S. 553 (1923)
• Zobel v. Williams · 457 U.S. 55 (1982)
• Mandel v. Bradley · 432 U.S. 173 (1977)
• Power Reactor Development Co. v. International Union of Electrical, Radio & MacHine Workers · 367 U.S. 396 (1961)
• Gardner v. Toilet Goods Assn., Inc. · 387 U.S. 167 (1967)
• Frost v. Corporation Comm'n of Okla. · 278 U.S. 515 (1929)
• Commonwealth Edison Co. v. Montana · 453 U.S. 609 (1981)
• Mills v. Rogers · 457 U.S. 291 (1982)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Virginia Uranium, Inc. v. Warren · 587 U.S. 761 (2019)
• Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee Corp. · 464 U.S. 238 (1984)
• English v. General Electric Co. · 496 U.S. 72 (1990)
• NRC v. Texas · 605 U.S. 665 (2025)
• Gade v. National Solid Wastes Management Assn. · 505 U.S. 88 (1992)
• Thomas v. Union Carbide Agricultural Products Co. · 473 U.S. 568 (1985)
• Reno v. Catholic Social Services, Inc. · 509 U.S. 43 (1993)
• Kansas v. Garcia · 589 U.S. 191 (2020)
• Cipollone v. Liggett Group, Inc. · 505 U.S. 504 (1992)
• California v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission · 495 U.S. 490 (1990)
• Shaw v. Delta Air Lines, Inc. · 463 U.S. 85 (1983)
• New Orleans Public Service, Inc. v. Council of City of New Orleans · 491 U.S. 350 (1989)
• United States v. S.A. Empresa De Viacao Aerea Rio Grandense · 467 U.S. 797 (1984)
• New York State Conference of Blue Cross & Blue Shield Plans v. Travelers Insurance · 514 U.S. 645 (1995)
• Gregory v. Ashcroft · 501 U.S. 452 (1991)
• New York v. United States · 505 U.S. 144 (1992)
• Ohio Forestry Assn., Inc. v. Sierra Club · 523 U.S. 726 (1998)
• California Federal Savings & Loan Ass'n v. Guerra · 479 U.S. 272 (1987)
• Wisconsin Public Intervenor v. Mortier · 501 U.S. 597 (1991)
• International Paper Co. v. Ouellette · 479 U.S. 481 (1987)
• California v. ARC America Corp. · 490 U.S. 93 (1989)
• Wardair Canada Inc. v. Florida Department of Revenue · 477 U.S. 1 (1986)
• District of Columbia v. Greater Washington Board of Trade · 506 U.S. 125 (1992)
• Exxon Corp. v. Eagerton · 462 U.S. 176 (1983)
• California Coastal Commission v. Granite Rock Co. · 480 U.S. 572 (1987)
• Northwest Central Pipeline Corp. v. State Corporation Comm'n of Kan. · 489 U.S. 493 (1989)
• Exxon Corp. v. Hunt · 475 U.S. 355 (1986)
• Hayfield Northern Railroad v. Chicago & North Western Transportation Co. · 467 U.S. 622 (1984)
• Philko Aviation, Inc. v. Shacket · 462 U.S. 406 (1983)
• Dalton v. Little Rock Family Planning Services · 516 U.S. 474 (1996)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: the U.S. Reports via govinfo.gov; authoring Justice and vote lineup from the Supreme Court Database (Washington University). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).