Secondary 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 secondary 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 secondary distribution. 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 REF601

ABB Relion REF601 is an entry-level feeder protection and control relay for secondary distribution. ABB Relion REF601 provides an optimized composition of protection, monitoring and control functionality in one unit, including pre-configured functionality for easy and fast commissioning of the medium voltage switchgear. It is available in two variants: conventional current transformer interface-based and Rogowski current sensors’ analog interface-based. With a sensor-based approach, our customers benefit from a standardized interface with high measurement accuracy, which results in improved performance of the protection function and speed. ABB Relion REF601 also offers serial communication (Modbus RTU and IEC-103) for easy connection.

Benefits:

  • Compact, flexible and simple to handle with a smaller number of variants, easy to stock
  • Fast deployment with easily configurable binary inputs and outputs and preconfigured functionality
  • Main protection for overhead lines and cable feeders in solidly earthed, resistance-earthed or isolated networks

Industries and applications:

  • Feeder protection
  • Current protection

Relion REJ603

ABB Relion REJ603 is a self-powered protection relay for the protection of utility substations and industrial power distribution systems in secondary distribution. It is a current-transformer-powered protection relay for applications where auxiliary power is not available or cannot be guaranteed. An ideal choice for installation at remote locations. The relay is often used in ring main units and secondary distribution switchgear within distribution networks.

Benefits:

  • Simple and efficient compact footprint with fixed hardware and easy wiring
  • Speedy commissioning through selective test function for protection functions and binary output contacts including test trip to circuit breaker
  • It offers essential protection with key functions covered

Industries and applications:

  • Feeder protection
  • Current protection

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. User friendly PCM600 tool
  • 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

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

REF601 - 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
- Current protection

REJ603 - 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
- Current protection

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
- Current 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

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.

Primary Protection Relays

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

SafeRing

Compact gas-insulated switchgear for all applications in secondary power distribution. Bridging Tradition and Innovation with SF6 and SF6-Free Technology.

UniSec

Modular air-insulated switchgear for all applications in secondary power distribution up to 24 kV. Flexible and Reliable SF6 and SF6-Free Technology.

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.