John Marshall Harlan II

“ It is no disparagement of the Authority to recognize that an orderly system of law does not place the enforcement of a restraint upon discretion into the unfettered hands of the party sought to be restrained ”

“ The Court acknowledges, as it must, that 'it is clear and undisputed that protection of private utilities from TVA competition was almost universally regarded as the primary objective of the (service area) limitation.' Ante, p. 665.
The provisions in question were expected to protect private utilities by 'defin (ing) ' and 'limit (ing) ' the 'working arrangement that now exists with respect to' the Authority's service area. S.Rep. No. 470, 86th Cong., 1st Sess., 8. They were thus intended to constrict the Authority's discretion as to the expansion of its area of service. ”

“ The role of the courts should, in particular, be viewed hospitably where, as here, the question sought to be reviewed does not significantly engage the agency's expertise. This is an instance 'where the only or principal dispute relates to the meaning of the statutory term,' NLRB v. ”