Overview

Bruce May Jr. is an energy and public utility attorney in Holland & Knight's Tallahassee office. He heads the firm's Public Utility practice. For more than 30 years, he has been actively involved before the Florida Public Service Commission and other regulatory agencies on a variety of matters relating to electric, natural gas, water and wastewater utilities. He is also active in legislative matters involving public utility, energy and environmental law issues.

Mr. May's electric and natural gas utility experience includes: representation of utilities in contested rate cases; negotiation of power purchase agreements and interconnection agreements; administrative proceedings for approval of cogeneration and independent power projects; regulatory approvals of power purchase agreements; administrative litigation regarding competitive procurement of energy; regulatory litigation involving disputes over power purchase agreements; administrative litigation regarding service territory disputes; negotiation of territorial agreements; need determinations for power plants under The Florida Power Plant Siting Act; administrative litigation concerning regulatory treatment of natural gas contracts; and administrative rulemaking relating to electric and natural gas utilities. Mr. May also has extensive experience in negotiating pole attachment agreements on behalf of electric cooperatives. He has been actively involved in the implementation of a number of important energy-related statutes, including The Florida Electrical Power Plant Siting Act, The Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 and The National Energy Policy Act.

Mr. May's water and wastewater utility experience includes: representation of investor-owned water and wastewater utilities in contested rate cases; water and wastewater certification proceedings before the Florida Public Service Commission representation of municipal utilities in negotiation of all-requirements wholesale water supply agreements; representation of municipal utilities in establishing reserve areas pursuant to Section 180.02, Florida Statutes, and administrative rulemaking relating to the regulation of water and wastewater utilities.

Prior to joining Holland & Knight, he served as a law clerk to the Honorable James C. Adkins, Florida Supreme Court Justice.

Credentials

Education
  • University of Florida Levin College of Law, J.D.
  • The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, B.A., with honors
Bar Admissions/Licenses
  • Florida
Court Admissions
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
  • All State Courts in Florida
Memberships
  • The Florida Bar, Environmental and Land Use Law Section
  • American Bar Association (Public Utility Law and Administrative Law Sections)
  • Federal Energy Bar
  • Tallahassee Bar Association
Honors & Awards
  • Chambers USA – America's Leading Business Lawyers guide, Energy & Natural Resources, 2021, 2022, 2023
  • The Best Lawyers in America guide, Energy Law, 2005-2024; Lawyer of the Year, Energy Law (Tallahassee), 2021 and 2024
  • Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Peer Review Rated, 1997-Present

Publications