Jacob Strauss ’16 to Present Public Lectures on Energy Policy and Economics The talks will be held in Huntley Hall 327 on Feb. 12.

By Brian Laubscher
February 5, 2025

Jacob Strauss ’16, economic analyst at the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, will present a public lecture titled “An Introduction to Wholesale Electric Power Markets” to the Washington and Lee University community on Wednesday, Feb. 12 in Huntley Hall Room 327.

Strauss will offer his lecture twice, from 12:40-1:40 p.m. and again from 1:50-2:50 p.m. The lectures are free and open to all. In addition to his lecture, Strauss will host a career chat with select students interested in pursuing a Ph.D. in economics or a career in energy policy or energy economics.

“I am grateful to the university and Joseph Guse, professor of economics, for extending the invitation to speak. I am excited to return to campus for the first time in almost a decade,” said Strauss. “Wholesale market design plays a pivotal role in the transition of the energy sector, and I hope to pique student interest in this niche area by providing an overview of my work and market design.”

Strauss was a Johnson Scholar at W&L, earning a Bachelor of Arts in economics. Following his time in Lexington, he worked for the Federal Reserve in the Monetary Affairs Division, before pursuing a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Minnesota. In his current role with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, Strauss serves as a state representative to the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), which provides open-access transmission service and monitors the high-voltage transmission system for the Midwestern United States, in Manitoba, Canada, and in a southern U.S. region that includes much of Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana.

“Jacob excelled at W&L, earning the Kim Family Prize for his honors thesis,” said Guse. “We stayed in touch, and via Zoom, I attended his dissertation defense on the challenges of maintaining a reliable and balanced electric power grid with increasing renewable energy sources. His work was one of the reasons I decided to develop a new class on energy economics. I’m thrilled he is returning to Lexington to share his expertise on renewable energy and wholesale power markets with students in the class he inspired and the broader W&L community.”

Strauss’ visit is sponsored by the Economics Department and the Williams School of Commerce, Economics, and Politics.