BEND, Ore -- Big news for those who use electric cars, or hope to one day: A new electric vehicle charging station in Bend is the first of its kind in Central Oregon. It has the ability to charge up to four vehicles at once and it is installed at the office of Sunlight Solar in Bend.

The charging station charges vehicles in a similar way to how cell phones are charged.

"It's like a cell phone plug in adapter - you plug in your cell phone charger to the wall and your cell phone into the charger and it charges," Kip Barrett of Sunlight Solar said Monday.

Sterling McCord, the owner of Bend Electric Vehicles, said it's a big step for electric car owners.

"For the car, a charging station is going to be huge," he said. "A charging station some day on Mount Hood will make trips to Portland real."

McCord acknowledged that the charging station is not just for electric cars - it's for bikes too. He said having the electric charging station at Sunlight Solar is an honor, and he thinks it will get more people to dive in.

Dorothy Roth said she and her husband are tired of peddling up hills on their "Trikes," so she went to McCord for an upgrade.

"He hooked us up with our little motor, and we scoot all over the place in this thing," Roth said.

Roth and her husband take their three dogs with them on bike outings. Two of the dogs are harnessed to the Trike and another sits in a basket.

"Our dogs used to pull us up the big hills," Roth joked. "Now our trikes do the work because they are electric - it's great,"

Sunlight Solar will be holding an open house on June 24 from 5-7 PM at their office, located at 4 NW Franklin Ave. in Bend. Residents are invited to come down and see how the charging station works first hand.