55年来，刘家峡水电厂坚持科学规划，分步实施设备改造和技术革新，新建洮河口排沙洞及扩机工程，企业发展动力和后劲十足。1986年至2002年，厂引进世界先进设备与技术，联合国内科研单位和企业，历时17载，完成了全部5台机组的增容改造，净增出力19万千瓦，总装机容量达到135万千瓦，开创了国内大机组增容改造的先河。2007年8月，电厂建成投运甘肃省第一座330千伏GIS开关站；2011年2月，220千伏GIS开关站建成投运，彻底解决了全厂送出受阻的“瓶颈”。

2018年8月，刘家峡水电厂全面建成投运洮河口排沙洞及扩机工程，实现“一洞两用”“排浑发清”，进一步提高了水能利用率和调峰能力，缓解了甘肃电网并网新能源装机容量大电网调节困难的问题。2018年，为了适应新时代能源发展新要求，厂拉开了“三次创业”大幕，先后完成了3号机、1号机、4号机定子改造。2022年6月24日，电厂2号机组整机改造工程顺利完成，标志着这台1970年投产发电，连续运营51周年，为社会经济发展贡献了471.22亿千瓦时优质清洁能源的功勋机组再次焕发“新生”，创造了该机型整机改造的最短工期纪录。

与此同时，刘家峡水电厂充分发挥水库巨大的防洪、防凌功能，有效调控水库出库流量，确保了黄河岁岁安澜。成功抵御了1981年百年一遇特大洪水，经受住了2018至2020年连续三年长时间泄洪与持续满负荷运行双重压力的考验，成功调节流域多次洪峰，为黄河中下游地区安全度汛发挥了重要作用。每年4月和10月，为甘肃、宁夏、内蒙古地区农业春灌、冬灌补水8亿至12亿立方米，使黄河下游沿岸1600多万亩土地得到及时滋润，粮食单产量大幅度提高，进一步增加了农民收入。

Over the past 55 years, Liujiaxia hydropower plant has adhered to scientific planning, implemented equipment transformation and technological innovation step by step, and built a new Taohekou sand drainage tunnel and expansion project. From 1986 to 2002, the factory introduced the world's advanced equipment and technology, scientific research units and enterprises in the United Nations, lasted 17 years, completed the capacity expansion of all 5 units, a net increase of 190,000 kilowatts, the total installed capacity reached 1.35 million kilowatts, creating the first domestic capacity expansion of large units. In August 2007, the power plant was completed and put into operation the first 330 kV GIS switching station in Gansu Province. In February 2011, the 220 kV GIS switching station was completed and put into operation, completely solving the "bottleneck" of the whole plant.

In August 2018, the Liujiaxia Hydropower Plant fully completed the operation of Taohekou sand drainage tunnel and expansion project, to achieve "one hole dual-use" and "drainage and clearing", further improving the water energy utilization rate and peak load balancing capacity, and alleviating the difficulty of grid regulation of large new energy installed capacity in Gansu power grid. In 2018, in order to meet the new requirements of energy development in the new era, the factory opened the curtain of "three entrepreneurship" and completed the stator transformation of No. 3 machine, No. 1 machine and No. 4 machine. On June 24, 2022, the whole machine transformation project of Unit 2 of the power plant was successfully completed, marking the 51 years of continuous operation of this unit, which was put into power generation in 1970, and contributed 47.122 billion KWH of high-quality clean energy to social and economic development, and created the record of the shortest construction period of the whole machine transformation.

At the same time, the Liujiaxia hydropower plant gives full play to the huge flood control and flood prevention function of the reservoir, effectively regulates the discharge flow of the reservoir, and ensures the stability of the Yellow River year after year. It successfully resisted the once-in-a-century flood in 1981, withstood the test of the dual pressure of prolonged flood discharge and continuous full load operation for three consecutive years from 2018 to 2020, successfully adjusted multiple flood peaks in the basin, and played an important role in the safety of flood control in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River. In April and October each year, 800 million to 1.2 billion cubic meters of water are replenished for agricultural spring and winter irrigation in Gansu, Ningxia and Inner Mongolia, which timely moistened more than 16 million mu of land along the lower Yellow River, greatly increased grain output per unit, and further increased farmers' income.