SSC600 / SSC600 SW

Centralized & Virtualized Protection

Centralized and virtualized protection and control

With a centralized protection and control (SSC600) approach, all protection and control functionalities that several individual protection relays offer are centralized into one single device on the substation level for minimal engineering, station-wide visibility and optimal process management. 

With this approach, a wide variety of utility and industrial applications gain the ability to centrally protect and control the grid from any abnormality from a single device. With the virtualized protection and control option (SSC600 SW), you can order only the software and install it on the hardware of your choice. 

ABB Relion® technology

<p>With software based on existing ABB Relion® technology, SSC600 and SSC600 SW are <b>designed for a wide range of power distribution applications</b>&nbsp;– from basic feeder protection and control to complex substation-wide applications.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>Both centralized and virtualized protection and control are based on the IEC 61850 standard for substation automation systems, allowing substation-wide information to be shared and utilized in a comprehensive way.&nbsp;</p> <p>ABB supports customers and partners in staying ahead of increasing electrification needs, technology, and regulatory changes, providing the&nbsp;<b><a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="/content/aot/global/en/areas/electrification/medium-voltage/switchgear/power-to-adapt.html">power to adapt</a></b>&nbsp;to a rapidly evolving energy landscape.&nbsp;</p> <p>ABB’s centralized and virtualized protection and control are available for end users, original equipment manufacturers (OEM), panel builders and Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPCs) partners to incorporate in their own installations or for use in&nbsp;<b>new, retrofit or upgrade projects</b>.&nbsp;</p>

Customer benefits

Reduced complexity

<p>30 protection relays functionality centralized into one single device on the substation level.&nbsp;</p>

Optimized asset management

<p>Up to 15 percent savings in substation life cycle costs. The amount of different hardware variants is reduced to only merging units and a centralized protection device. System upgrades and maintenance become easier and faster with a single device.</p>

Future-proof and flexible

<p>According to international standards, such as IEC 61850. Updating and modifying the centralized protection and control system to new requirements is easily done adding new application packages.&nbsp;</p>

Learn more

Videos

Customer references

This case study explores how ABB delivered a future‑proof protection, control and monitoring solution for Acciona Energía’s substation near the Anabaru wind farm in Karnataka, India. The project includes India’s first SSC600 device in the wind segment and enables local monitoring with remote control from Spain - bringing cost savings, higher operational efficiency, and flexible scalability for the evolving grid.

This case study explores how ABB delivered a future‑proof protection, control and monitoring solution for Acciona Energía’s substation near the Anabaru wind farm in Karnataka, India. The project includes India’s first SSC600 device in the wind segment and enables local monitoring with remote control from Spain - bringing cost savings, higher operational efficiency, and flexible scalability for the evolving grid.

This web story explores how Estonia’s largest distribution system operator, Elektrilevi, is piloting ABB’s SSC600 centralized protection and control solution in Tallinn. By consolidating multiple relay functions into one platform, the utility reduces system complexity, boosts flexibility, and prepares its network for growing renewable integration - all while ensuring reliable, future‑proof power distribution.

Taiwan Power Company relies on our centralized protection and control solution to pave the way for more resilient power distribution. Discover how they upgraded their substation with SSC600 on the Kinmen island. 

This web story highlights how Finnish utility Parikkalan Valo is modernizing its Punkasalmi substation with ABB’s SSC600 centralized protection and control solution. By replacing multiple aging protection devices with one IEC 61850‑based platform, the utility enhances reliability, simplifies asset management, and ensures the flexibility needed to support the evolving demands of its rural distribution network.

This web story highlights how UK Power Networks is partnering with ABB to shape its digital future through centralized protection and control. After a successful pilot using ABB’s SSC600 at an 11 kV substation in Kent, the utility is now preparing wider adoption to simplify engineering, improve real‑time visibility, and support the growing demands of renewable energy, storage and electric mobility across one of the UK’s most critical power networks.

This article highlights how Finnish utility Caruna is working with ABB to modernize its distribution network through a pioneering ABB Ability™ cloud‑based pilot. By connecting protection and control systems to the cloud and using SSC600 as a software‑oriented platform, Caruna gains smarter fleet management, easier updates, and powerful insights to boost reliability and prepare its grid for the future demands of renewable energy and changing consumption patterns.

Related offering

Air-insulated switchgear

Offering a highly modular and flexible solution, Air-Insulated Switchgear (AIS) simplifies installation and maintenance while ensuring reliable protection and minimal service interruption across diverse industrial applications.

Primary protection relays

Critical for grid safety and reliability, Primary Protection Relays continuously monitor the system to recognize abnormal conditions and instantly initiate corrective actions, preventing faults from spreading across the network.

Secondary vacuum circuit breakers

Essential for reliable power delivery to commercial and residential users, Secondary Vacuum Circuit Breakers protect the evolving secondary distribution grid by safely interrupting and restoring power flow when local anomalies occur.

Secondary protection relays

Specifically designed for the final stage of power delivery, Secondary Pro-tection Relays monitor the secondary distribution network to quickly detect and resolve local system abnormalities, ensuring safety and con-tinuous service.

Frequently Asked Questions

With a centralized protection and control (SSC600) approach, all protection and control functionalities that several individual protection relays offer are centralized into one single device on the substation level for minimal engineering, station-wide visibility and optimal process management. With this approach, a wide variety of utility and industrial applications gain the ability to centrally protect and control the grid from any abnormality from a single device.  

SSC600 is a turnkey centralized protection and control product, which is delivered as a tested, complete product, including device and embedded software. SSC600 SW is a virtualized protection and control product, which is delivered as a pure software package, without any hardware. Functionalities, features and performance (including protection) are the same in both SSC600 and SSC600 SW. 

Engineering SSC600 requires less effort compared to separately engineering 30 interconnected bay devices. Powerful templating functionalities in PCM600 allows for fast engineering of the complete SSC600 centralized protection system. 

SSC600 SW is delivered as a Virtual Machine. It can be used in either VMWare ESXi or KVM. The SSC600 Installation Manual provides the guidelines on how to configure a virtualization environment to enable the real-time functionality of SSC600 SW. The SSC600 Installation Manual can be found in the Technical Documentation Portal of ABB Relays-Online.  

SSC600 SW needs appropriate computing resources to enable real-time protection and control functionality. Minimum requirements for the computer, and some example configurations, are documented in the SSC600 Engineering Manual, which can be found in the Technical Documentation Portal of ABB Relays-Online

Technologies used in centralized protection and control system needs to have the needed performance to enable real-time functionality. This means that the Ethernet switches and time synchronization devices need to be capable to operate with the needed performance. These requirements are the same as in any process bus application when using sampled values. Guidance documentation for equipment selection can be found in the Knowledge warehouse of ABB Relays-Online.

SSC600 is based on international standards, such as IEC 61850. Any protection relay that is capable of sending measurements according to IEC 61850 9-2LE or IEC 61869-9, and receiving control commands via IEC 61850 GOOSE (Generic Object Oriented Substation Event) messaging, is suitable as merging unit. 

Commissioning and testing before energizing the substation is done as with conventional relays. The secondary injection is just done to the merging units. There are also digital testing devices, which can inject digitized measurements, if needed. Periodical testing can also be done as before, as long as it has been prepared in the SSC600 application during the engineering phase. 

SSC600 is a robust industrial device with redundant power supply and no moving parts. SSC600 has the same lifecycle policies as our protection relays. There are multiple different redundancy solutions available, such as duplicating SSC600 units or including backup protection in the merging units. 

SSC600 fulfills the same environmental standards as ABB’s protection relays – which means it can be installed in the low-voltage compartment. However, as SSC600 is for the whole substation, it often makes sense to install the device in a separate rack, for example together with the gateway and Ethernet switches.

ABB’s SSC600 is based on international standards, which means different parts of the system are interchangeable. The protection functionality, product quality, testing, and processes according to the highest standards. Full lifecycle management is guaranteed by ABB. 

The initial acquisition price for a greenfield installation is within the same price range as conventional protection and control relays. Taking into account redundant protection, new functionalities, and lifecycle costs, SSC600 is less expensive. The total cost of ownership is estimated to be 15% less for SSC600, compared to a similar system with conventional protection and control relays. Centralized protection and control is an investment for the future.  

In many cases, yes. The distance between the protected objects and the SSC600 device is not decisive. However, if the distance between SSC600 and the merging unit is long, it must be secured that the communication channel is good enough for sampled value streams.  

SSC600 supports IEC 61850 MMS, IEC 60870-5-104 and DNP3. If the SCADA system supports these protocols, SSC600 can be directly connected to it just as any other protection relay.