The Electric Institute won’t hold research funds.

Directors of the Edison Electric Institute agreed to stop the practice of collecting funds from utilities on behalf of the Electric Power Research Institute, an affiliate that does scientific research. The Environmental Action Foundation had charged that the institute was financing its lobbying activities by depositing the research funds for short periods of time in an interest-earning account. The foundation will continue to pressure the Electric Institute, an organization funded by investor-owned utilities, to return the estimated $14 million to $19 million in interest earned on the research money since 1973, a foundation spokesman said.