The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) is an association that represents all U.S. investor-owned electric companies. Its members provide electricity for 220 million Americans, operate in 50 states and the District of Columbia, and directly employ more than one million workers. EEI has 70 international electric companies as Affiliate Members, and 250 industry suppliers and related organizations as Associate Members. Membership Members of the Edison Electric Institute are investor-owned utility companies, meaning that they are privately held companies that supply power and electricity to businesses and consumers. Some of the larger members include: Alliant Energy American Electric Power Berkshire Hathaway Energy CenterPoint Energy CMS Energy (Consumers Energy) Consolidated Edison Duke Energy Entergy Corporation FirstEnergy PG&E Corporation Southern Company Xcel Energy Issues 2017 tax cut The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the largest tax overhaul in 30 years, was passed by Congress and signed by President Trump at the end of 2017. The legislation had several provisions that benefit the electric industry: maintaining the federal income tax deduction for interest expense for regulated electric companies; maintaining the federal income tax deduction for state and local taxes; and providing for the “continuation of normalization, including addressing excess deferred taxes resulting from a reduction in the tax rate.” Electric vehicles On June 8, 2015, U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and the Edison Electric Institute signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) regarding plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs). The MOU sets up a collaboration between the government and EEI to make PEVs, by the year 2022, as affordable as regular gas-powered vehicles were in 2012. The Department of Energy runs an initiative called the "EV Everywhere Grand Challenge", which put forth the 2022 affordability goal. The program coincides with the popularity of electric vehicle sales, which have increased by 128 percent between 2012 and 2014. EEI runs a program called the Employee PEV Engagement Initiative. The goal is to "increase electric vehicle readiness, especially in the workplace," according to the Department of Energy. According to the Department of Energy, Kate Brandt, Federal Chief Sustainability Officer at the White House Council on Environmental Quality, said, "Today's Memorandum of Understanding with the nation's electric power industry allows the Department of Energy to tap into the experience and scale of an industry that is truly leading the way in moving the electric vehicle market forward." In pursuing the initiative, EEI and the DOE will work with other federal agencies including