The Ohio Northern University T.J. Smull College of Engineering will host a seminar, “Energy Economics – Keeping the Lights On,” at The Inn on the campus of ONU on Friday, Oct. 5, at 7:30 p.m.

Jan Klaiss, a senior planning analyst at Consolidated Edison (ConEd) in New York City, will be the featured speaker. This event will concentrate on the economics of the energy industry and its impact on the field of engineering. Klaiss’ presentation will cover how energy economics has gone from focusing on the supply of electricity (in the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s) to today’s demand for electricity, along with how deregulation has pushed the change. The presentation also will cover the confusion about how to approach supply to grid to demand.

Klaiss graduated from ONU in 1979 with a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering. After graduating from ONU, he earned a master’s degree from Miami University. Early in his career, Klaiss worked within the power utility industry at Bechtel Power Corporation and Pennsylvania Power and Light before becoming a financial consultant at Smith Barney and other financial services firms. He returned to the power utility industry when he joined ConEd in 2007.

The cost for the seminar is $15, and the deadline for registration is Oct. 2. Individuals can RSVP online at onualumnicommunity.com. This presentation is being presented in conjunction with ONU’s Homecoming 2012 and is the first in a series of seminars and workshops that will focus on the topic of advanced energy. The college’s Advanced Energy Program is sponsored in part by a grant from the American Electric Power (AEP) Foundation.