But by the early 1950s, most large hydroelectric sites were already under development and new power sources were required to meet the province's growing appetite for electricity.

They would require heavy weights attached to overcome turbine vibration at the higher (60 cycle) speeds in Canada.

During the late 1960s and 1970s, the station operated to full capacity as an eight-unit baseload plant, meeting about 17% of Ontario's electricity needs.

In the early 1980s, Lakeview worked at full capacity after problems at Pickering in August 1983 resulted in a brief power shortage.

The station continued to play an important role as a four-unit peaking plant, providing an adequate and reliable electricity supply when consumer demands were highest in the morning and around the dinner hour – and in the summer and winter.

At a cost of $274 million, Lakeview Generating Station had become the largest thermal-electric plant in the world when it was completed in 1968.

Environmental improvements at Lakeview in recent years included recycling fly ash and safeguarding water quality.