They argued that as a public service corporation,
Southern Power could not hand pick the rates they offered to various groups.8
While pleading the need to raise rates for the Public Service Corporation, Southern
Power remained under contract to provide electricity at 1.1 cents per kilowatthour
to a subsidiary, the Southern Public Utilities Company, until 1944. Unsurprisingly,
the Public Service Company’s managers reasoned that a difference of almost 50 percent in rates was discriminatory and impermissible. But North Carolina’s
Corporation Commission rebuffed complaints, stating they had no power to
regulate rates between power distributors. On the advice of counselor Aubrey L.
Brooks, the Public Service Company met with Duke about a potential buyout, but
Duke insisted the company’s stock was worthless. With no options left, the Public
Service Company turned to the Guildford County Superior Court, seeking an
order that would mandate Southern Power to continue to furnish power. It was
granted by a mandamus, which Southern Power appealed to the North Carolina
Supreme Court.