York Water Co. v. York

Citations

• 250 Pa. 115
• 95 A. 396

Syllabus

<p>Corporations — Public service corporations — Water companies— Municipalities — Regulation of companies — Constitutional law — Conflict of statutes — City and State supervision of public service corporations — Public Service Commission — Act of June 27, 1918, P. L. 568 — Act of July 26,1918, P. L. 187k.</p> <p>1 Under clause 31, Section 3, Article Y, of the Act of June 27, 1913, P. L. 568, relating to cities of the third class and providing for certain regulations and inspections of public service, corporations, a city of the third class is without power to pass an ordinance compelling the installation of meters by and at the cost of a water company when requested so to do by any consumer without charge or expense to the consumer making the demand, the purpose of the ordinance being expressly to prevent the exaction of unjust and exorbitant charges from certain classes of consumers, as this section of the act, in so far at least as the powers conferred upon cities to regulate the powers of public service corporations are involved, was repealed by the Act of July 26,1913, P. L. 1374, known as the Public Service Company Law.</p> <p>2. The Public Service Company Law was intended to establish a complete and uniform system throughout the State for the enforcement of such powers as were conferred upon the Public Service Commission by that statute and even if the act did not, as it does, so provide in express terms it would operate as a repeal of former statutes inconsistent with its provisions.</p> <p>3. Although cities of the third class, or of any other class, may under their police power prescribe reasonable regulations as a protection to the health, lives, property and safety of their inhabitants, even as applied to public service corporations, they cannot under the guise of a police regulation undertake to determine the reasonableness of rates charged by public service corporations,-nor can they prescribe regulations relating to facilities, service and business of