Leo Manuel Participates in Governor Reeves’ Mississippi Energy Summit

Leo Manuel, partner in Balch’s Energy Practice and the firm’s Office Managing Partner for the Gulfport, Mississippi office, participated in the Mississippi’s Power Play summit hosted by Governor Tate Reeves in Jackson. The summit marked the launch of a new statewide initiative aimed at positioning Mississippi as a national leader in energy production and policy. 

Leo joined approximately 30 participants in a focused three-hour working session as part of a one-day summit convening energy industry leaders, government officials, and stakeholders from across the country. 

The summit aimed to develop a framework to enhance Mississippi’s electric generation and transmission capabilities—positioning the state to better attract large-scale economic development projects such as data centers. Discussions focused on diversifying energy sources, enhancing infrastructure, fostering technological advancement, and removing regulatory barriers.

“It was a privilege to be part of such an important conversation about the future of energy in Mississippi,” Leo said. “I appreciated the opportunity to share perspectives on existing and new policies that will position our state as a leader in energy innovation and abundance.”

Governor Reeves emphasized that the initiative is not just about producing more energy—it’s about enabling high-value private sector investment by making Mississippi a more agile and attractive place to do business. 

“I’d like to thank the energy industry leaders and government partners who attended today’s summit for their invaluable and actionable feedback,” Gov. Reeves said after the Summit. 

Leo has a diverse legal practice in the areas of commercial litigation and transactions, renewable energy development, public utility regulation, economic development and general corporate governance. He brings twenty years of experience in very large and complex commercial and energy legal matters ranging from asset merger and acquisition to multi-billion dollar project permitting and rate cases.