PITTSBURGH—A high-power wall connector for Tesla electric cars has been installed for public use at Carnegie Mellon University’s Electric Garage in Oakland, joining eight existing vehicle recharging stations. The garage at 4621 Forbes Ave. will host an open house to celebrate the addition from 4 to 7 p.m., April 4.

“This is definitely the largest charging infrastructure of any institution in this half of Pennsylvania, and likely anywhere in the state,” said Illah Nourbakhsh, professor of robotics. “And the Tesla charger is the only one available to the public locally.”

All of the charging stations are available at no cost 24 hours a day on a first-come, first-served basis. The Electric Garage, a former gas station, houses ChargeCar, an electric vehicle research project directed by Nourbakhsh.

The Tesla High Power Wall Connector was recently installed and was made possible through private donations. Eight Eaton recharging stations were installed at the garage in 2012 with funding from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Office of Energy and Technology Deployment.

During Friday’s open house, gas vehicles converted to electric power through the ChargeCar program and other electric vehicles will be on display and members of the electric vehicle community are encouraged to bring and brag about their vehicles.