Following closure of its mines, Nova Scotia Power purchased the federal Crown corporation's surface assets, including shipping piers on Sydney Harbour and the Devco Railway which was used to haul coal to the Lingan Generating Station.

In order to meet emissions standards, the company now imports coal containing fewer pollutants from the United States and South America, which is hauled from the Port of Sydney by the SCR to the generating station.

In 2005, Nova Scotia Power announced a $100 million upgrade for the Lingan Generating Station, including the installation of a scrubber for flue gas desulphurization (FGD) and low nitrogen oxide burners.

The ‘Low-NOx’ combustion systems help prevent the creation of nitrogen oxides with a resulting reduction in NOx emissions of about 40 per cent.

The work involved completely tearing apart the turbine and the generator and then refurbishing and replacing numerous components as part of regular maintenance.

[9] On April 14, 1994, a courier flight originating from Moncton and destined for Sydney Airport had a near collision event with the power plant.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) determined that the crew did not properly plan and fly their approach to the Sydney Airport, which resulted in a near collision with the Lingan power generating plant.

[10] Since 2012, the utility has been shutting down two of Lingan's generators during the summer months, due to lower residential and industrial demand, increased renewable energy use and to meet environmental requirements.