Ashwander v. Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)

US Supreme Court decision of 1936 dealing with the government's authority to utilize navigable waterways as public property. The debate arose over the contracted sale of excess electricity produced by the TVA's Wilson Dam. Power companies unaccustomed to government competition in the industry filed suit to have the TVA contracts canceled. The Court ruled that since the government had acquired the electricity legally, through the exercise of its right to dam waterways, it had full right to dispose of its property.