UDR replaced an underperforming six-property charging program in eight days

UDR needed to replace an underperforming charging provider across six multifamily properties before the incumbent software renewal date. The transition had to move quickly without creating additional disruption for residents or onsite teams.

The work extended beyond swapping hardware. Each property needed a coordinated plan for installation, network activation, pricing, resident communications, property-manager onboarding, and support after launch.

PlugOp audited the existing infrastructure, built the replacement plan, coordinated installation across four states, and managed commissioning for all 84 chargers.

The team also prepared resident communications, supported pricing setup, onboarded property managers, and centralized ongoing support so the portfolio had one clearer operating model after the cutover.

The full six-property transition was completed in eight days, ahead of the renewal deadline. UDR moved from a fragmented provider relationship to a centrally managed charging program with clearer support ownership.

Measured as a portfolio average, escalated charger complaints reported to site teams fell from 7.2 per property per week before the replacement to zero after the transition. The figure is an aggregate across the six sites, not a property-level result.

A charger replacement is a fundamentally different project from a first installation, and the difference is what compresses the schedule. The expensive, slow work on a new charging project is electrical: trenching, conduit, panel capacity, permitting, and utility coordination. On a replacement, that infrastructure already exists and has already been inspected. What changes is the hardware at the end of the circuit and the software behind it.

That shifts the critical path from construction to sequencing. Hardware has to be sourced and staged before crews mobilize, mounting and circuit compatibility has to be confirmed against the existing installation rather than assumed, network activation has to be ready the moment a unit is energized, and each site needs its access, pricing, and billing configuration built in advance so a swapped charger is immediately usable.

The constraint that is easy to underestimate is the resident-facing side. Every charging account, payment method, and access credential lives with the outgoing provider, so a replacement is also a migration of people. Notice has to go out before stations come down, onsite teams need to know what to tell residents who arrive to a dead stall, and the new access method has to be working on day one.

Renewal deadlines are what usually force the pace. Software agreements often auto-renew for a full term, which means missing the date by a week can cost a year of fees for a system the owner has already decided to leave. Working backward from that date, rather than from installation availability, is what determines whether a replacement is planned or improvised.