Primary Protection Relays

Protecting and controlling an evolving grid 

 

The main purpose of a protection and control relay is to recognize any abnormal power system condition(s), or abnormally operating system component(s). Grid anomalies can be caused by over currents - the overload through lightning or malfunctioning electric equipment or a short circuit in the system. Based on the information gathered, the protection and control relay will initiate corrective actions that return the power distribution system to its normal operating state providing a safe environment for personnel and equipment.  

 

Selecting the right protection and control functions and methods, that meet local legislation, safety requirements and engineering practice, improves the performance and the reliability of the power protection system, thus minimizing the effects of network faults and preventing the disturbance from spreading to healthy parts of the network. 

 

ABB’s Relion family of protection and control relays for primary distribution offers a wide range of products for protection, control, measurement and supervision of power distribution systems for IEC and ANSI applications – from generation and interconnected grids in primary distribution. ABB’s Relion products for primary distribution are designed fully compliant with the IEC 61850 standard and offer optimal cybersecurity, promoting secure connectivity and safeguard our customers’ network. All ABB Relion protection and control relays leverage the same configuration software. 

 

ABB supports customers and partners in staying ahead of increasing electrification needs, technology, and regulatory changes, providing the power to adapt to a rapidly evolving energy landscape. 

ABB’s protection and control relays are available for original equipment manufacturers (OEM), panel builders and Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPCs) partners to incorporate in their own installations or for use in new, retrofit or upgrade projects. 

Relion REX615

The ABB Relion REX615 protection and control relay is an all-in-one protection and control relay for power generation and distribution applications in primary and secondary distribution. It represents the next step for ABB’s 615 and 620 series relays. Relion REX615 protection and control relay offers multiapplication coverage combined with fully modular and scalable hardware and software to ensure maximum flexibility and optimal cost-efficiency throughout the relay life cycle.

Benefits:

  • Compact and modular: ABB Relion REX615 fits various medium voltage switchgear types and offers a simplified engineering and logistic process
  • Ready-made application packages for convenient and smooth ordering and engineering
  • Wide application coverage and easy and flexible adaptation to changing protection and communication requirements with fully modular hardware and software

Industries and applications:

  • Feeder protection, Bay control
  • Transformer protection, Line differential protection
  • Motor protection, Generator protection
  • Busbar protection, Capacitor bank protection
  • Voltage protection, Interconnection protection
  • Arc flash protection

Relion REX640

Relion REX640 is a powerful, freely configurable all-in-one protection and control relay for primary distribution. The fully modular hardware and software allows for high customization and modification flexibility, and easy adaptation to changing protection requirements throughout the relay life cycle. ABB Relion REX640 protection and control relays are available in two different case widths: a narrow case offering five module slots and a standard case offering seven module slots. Software options are identical for both case sizes.

Benefits:

  • Modular and scalable hardware and software for maximum flexibility for the lifetime of the relay. Available in two hardware sizes, standard and narrow, to suit a variety of switchgear, applications and protection schemes
  • Wide application coverage with one freely configurable device for flexible and cost-effective tailoring to application-specific requirements
  • Ready-made application packages for convenient and smooth ordering and optimal situational awareness and usability with application-driven LHMI (local human-machine interface)/SHMI (switchgear human-machine interface) (switchgear HMI)

Industries and applications:

  • Feeder, Line differential
  • Transformer, Voltage
  • Busbar, Capacitor bank
  • Motor, generator and interconnection protection
  • Automatic voltage regulation for on-load tap changers
  • Petersen coil protection and auto-synchronization

PCM600

PCM600 is an user friendly configuration and communication engineering tool for ABB Relion protection and control relays . With an intuitive user interface, PCM600 offers configuration capabilities for I/O mapping and signal mapping. The user interface, workflow and the IEC 61850 based data model in PCM600 are designed according to the same philosophy as the intelligent electronic device (IED) itself, ensuring smooth and seamless integration between the tool and the IEDs. PCM600 is IEC 61850 compliant, ensuring communication between bay and station levels and bay-to-bay GOOSE messaging for station-wide interlocking and control of parallel transformers.

Benefits:

  • Engineering efficiency
  • Set parameters
  • Analyze and monitor

Industries and applications:

  • for the entire life- cycle of Relion® protection IED applications
  • control IED applications

Product scope

REX615 - Feeder protection
- Bay control
- Transformer protection
- Line distance protection
- Line differential protection
- Motor protection
- Generator protection
- Busbar protection
- Capacitor bank protection
- Voltage protection
- Load-shedding
- Grid automation
- Petersen coil control
- Auto-synchronization
- Interconnection protection
- Arc flash protection

REX640 - Feeder protection
- Bay control
- Transformer protection
- Line distance protection
- Line differential protection
- Motor protection
- Generator protection
- Busbar protection
- Capacitor bank protection
- Voltage protection
- Load-shedding
- Grid automation
- Petersen coil control
- Auto-synchronization
- Interconnection protection
- Arc flash protection

Services for ABB Relion

  • Trainings - remotely or at our facilities in Finland 
  • Support - by local "agency" or by our manufacture for level 3 
  • Select the right relay 
  • Technical documentation

Related offering

Switchgear

Medium voltage switchgear largely serves utilities, industry and infrastructure often providing the required medium-voltage link between high-voltage transmission systems and low-voltage users.

Centralized protection and control

Simplify engineering and gain station-wide visibility by utilizing Centralized Virtualized Protection, which consolidates all protection and control functions into a single device at the substation level.

Grid Components

ABB offers grid components for connection, protection and control from vacuum circuit breakers to protection relays and sensors, for both indoor and outdoor applications.

Primary Vacuum Circuit Breakers

Ensuring grid integrity for primary distribution, Primary Vacuum Circuit Break-ers safely interrupt power flow during major anomalies (like short circuits or overcurrents) and quickly restore service, guaranteeing continuous power for critical users.

Frequently Asked Questions

The main purpose of a medium voltage protection and control relay is to recognize any abnormal power system condition(s), or abnormally operating system component(s). Grid anomalies can be caused by over currents - the overload through lightning or malfunctioning electric equipment or a short circuit in the system. Based on the information gathered, the protection and control relay will initiate corrective actions that return the power distribution system to its normal operating state providing a safe environment for personnel and equipment. 

A medium voltage protection and control relay is a switchgear component that detects faults in the grid. Once the fault/anomaly is detected, it initiates the operation of the circuit breaker to isolate the fault from the rest of the network. ABB relays react to faults in milliseconds to ensure power continuity and safety.

ABB’s Relion family of protection and control relays for primary distribution offers a wide range of products for protection, control, measurement and supervision of power distribution systems for IEC and ANSI applications – from generation and interconnected grids in primary distribution. ABB’s Relion products for primary distribution are designed fully compliant with the IEC 61850 standard and offer optimal cybersecurity, promoting secure connectivity and safeguard our customers’ network. They are modular and flexible for easy adaption to changing protection requirements throughout the entire relay life cycle. 

Yes, ABB’s Relion protection and control relays feature a plug-in design that makes performing maintenance or replacement easy. It is also easy to change the relay as requirements change – just modifying it with a software application package. 

It is easy to modify ABB Relion’s medium voltage protection and control relays. It’s simply a question of installing a new software application package to meet the specific need(s).