#58: 3V’s 16,000-unit charging deal

3V partners with Solomon, What is “Surface Transportation Reauthorization,” Pando Electric launches modular charger

The Business and Policy of Charging Infrastructure

The 3 big stories

  • 3V Infrastructure to deploy charging across 60 multifamily properties

  • The Federal Gov’t is still closed….so what is the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill 

  • Pando Electric launches world's first modular EV charger

Plus, featured jobs and news.

Steve

Industry News

The Solomon Organization has selected 3V Infrastructure to deploy EV charging across its 16,000-unit multifamily portfolio with no upfront cost to property owners.

3V will manage the funding, installation, operations, and maintenance through a revenue-share model, removing the capital barrier that typically slows multifamily charging projects.

3V's model addresses a significant gap in charging access.

According to CBRE, one-third of Americans live in multifamily housing, but only 5% of U.S. multifamily housing offers on-site EV charging.

By assuming all capital and operational risk, 3V allows property owners to offer EV charging as an amenity without the financial impact to these multifamily properties.

Steve’s take

This partnership is a great example of charging-as-a-service models unlocking multifamily properties at scale.

Property owners get a resident amenity with no impact to their balance sheet, while 3V captures long-term revenue through utilization fees.

The 16,000-unit scale shows institutional confidence in the multifamily charging opportunity.

The open question is utilization.

Multifamily charging typically sees lower utilization than workplace or public charging because residents have unpredictable driving patterns and longer dwell times.

If 3V's revenue-share model works, we should expect to see more large property owners follow Solomon's lead.

The real question is whether the revenue-share economics can sustain operations at scale without relying on utility incentives or tax credits.

Power and Policy

The federal government is in week 2 of its shutdown with no resolution in sight…so let’s talk about something else. “What is the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill”, you ask? Great question! 

The surface transportation reauthorization process is the mechanism by which Congress renews the legal and fiscal authority for federal transportation programs, including funding for highways, bridges, public transit, and related infrastructure. These reauthorizations typically occur every five years and set the stage for long-term investments and national priorities in transportation and infrastructure policy. The most recent reauthorization, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), was enacted in 2021 and is slated to expire at the end of fiscal year 2026. As such, policymakers and stakeholders have already begun early-stage discussions in preparation for the next major transportation bill. This bill will be a must-pass piece of legislation in 2026. 

The process is primarily led by the authorizing committees in Congress—the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Meanwhile, the Budget Committees establish funding caps, and the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means Committees craft the revenue provisions needed to sustain the Highway Trust Fund or supplement it with general fund transfers.

Surface transportation reauthorization is a collaborative process that includes input from the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), state departments of transportation, metropolitan planning organizations, transit agencies, industry associations, labor unions, and advocacy groups. USDOT typically releases a reauthorization framework or principles outlining the administration’s priorities.

The timeline for reauthorization unfolds over a two-year horizon. Thus far, however, Congress has not moved a comprehensive reauthorization bill through the full committee or to the floor. The activity in 2025 has centered on information gathering (hearings, RFI’s), stakeholder input solicitation, and preliminary bill drafting and introduction.  You can  expect that substantive committee markup and floor consideration will occur later in the Spring/Summer of 2026.

With the IIJA’s expiration at the end of September 2026, stakeholders should expect significant legislative activity early next year, as Congress, the White House, and transportation partners seek to shape the next era of national infrastructure policy.  We encourage you to get active in this important legislative process right away.

Emerging Tech

Pando Electric has launched the Pando+ Charger, a modular EV charger priced at $999 that allows multifamily property staff and residents to swap damaged or stolen cables without an electrician.

Typically, EV chargers require certified electricians for cable repairs, often leaving stations offline for weeks. This leads to lost revenue for property owners, resident complaints, and undermines the value of EV charging as an amenity.

The Pando+ Charger was created to solve this problem.

When cables are damaged or stolen, multifamily property staff can perform replacements immediately, keeping chargers operational.

The charger integrates with Pando's Gen2 ecosystem, including Pando Canopy, a self-healing mesh network that eliminates Wi-Fi dependency, and Pando Pulse, an energy management system that redistributes unused building power to charging.

Steve’s take

Pando’s modular cable design aims to turn a maintenance nightmare into a routine task by allowing non-technical staff to perform these cable swaps.

What makes this product particularly smart is the integration with Pando's broader ecosystem.

The self-healing mesh network and building-level energy management turn the Pando+ Charger from a standalone charger into a complete infrastructure platform.

If the modular design proves reliable at scale, I expect larger manufacturers will likely adopt similar approaches for multifamily deployments.

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⚡️Steve and Rob

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