supply and retail businesses) was privatised as Northern Ireland Electricity plc. In 1992 the supply of electricity in Northern Ireland was privatised. As a result, Northern Ireland Electricity sold the Ballylumford site to Premier Power, a subsidiary of British Gas. A condition of the sale was that the plant must be converted from heavy oil to gas-fired. British Gas formed Premier Transco Ltd. to build a submarine interconnector, the Scotland-Northern Ireland pipeline (SNIP), a 135 km pipe (40.4 km under sea) with a diameter of 0.61 m. Construction lasted three years (1994-1996) and was completed on time and on budget. Ballylumford converted to natural gas in 1996. To take advantage of this investment a licence was tendered to provide natural gas to Belfast, a tender which British Gas won through its subsidiary Phoenix Natural Gas. In 2000 work began on the site's newest facility, a combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT), which has greatly increased efficiency and reduced pollution. The new power block, called "C" Station entered commercial operation in 2003 and comprises steam turbines and gas turbines that can operate both in open cycle and in combined cycle. The gas turbines burn natural gas as the primary fuel but can also operate on low sulphur distillate liquid fuel if the gas fuel supply is interrupted. The electricity is generated at 15 and 18kV medium voltage and is increased to a higher 275/110kV level by step-up transformers to match the Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) transmission system requirements. This high-voltage electricity is transferred by underground cables to existing outgoing feeder connections in an adjacent NIE switch house and then through the transmission system to the electricity users. On 12 August 2010 the AES Corporation announced that its subsidiary, AES Ballylumford Holdings Limited, had acquired Premier Power Limited (PPL) from BG Energy Holdings through an all-cash transaction for £102 million (approximately $160 million), which included purchase price and working capital adjustment. The transaction was announced on 2 July 2010, and was subject to licence consents from the Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation and the Northern Ireland Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment. 2018 and 2019 In January 2018, Kilroot's failure to win a new contract under the Single Electricity Market threatened its closure by May. Ballylumford was also affected, with the B station likely to close with the potential loss of 30 jobs. In April 2019 AES Corporation has agreed to sell