The Omaha electric utility plans to make another wind energy addition this year as it seeks to replace a portion of the capacity lost when it shut down the nuclear plant at Fort Calhoun last year.

Some directors and groups representing ratepayers voiced their desire Thursday to add even more renewable generation. They included a coalition of sustainability managers and professors from local colleges, including the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Creighton University and the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Meanwhile, the damage toll continues to climb from the June 16 storm that downed hundreds of OPPD transmission and distribution poles and left some 76,500 of its customers without power, in some cases for up to six days.

OPPD officials have increased the estimate of the storm’s damage to $15 million, up from preliminary estimates of $10 million projected in the immediate aftermath of the severe weather system that spawned tornadoes and brought with it hurricane-force winds.

“We’ve had a lot of transmission (system) damage, and typically that’s not the case,” said Mohamad Doghman, the electric utility’s vice president of energy delivery and chief compliance officer.