That's because electric utility service always has been considered a public service and has been regulated as such for more than a century by states. The terms in solar leases essentially function as electric utility service. But state regulatory commissions do not regulate solar leasing contracts, leaving consumers vulnerable to corporate abuses and lawbreaking. Homeowners who lease – rather than buy – their solar panels under long-term contracts account for more than three-quarters of all new rooftop solar deployed in the U.S. over the past year. Public Citizen obtained sample leases from SolarCity and other leasing companies and found that many contain mandatory arbitration clauses. Public Citizen earlier this year urged the solar leasing industry leader, SolarCity, to remove arbitration clauses from standard contracts, but the company has refused. That's why the FTC needs to protect consumers by eliminating mandatory arbitration in contracts from solar leases and power purchase agreements.