Munich, Germany – December 2031 – Siemens Energy, a global leader in energy technology, has achieved an 82% reduction in unplanned substation outages and a 35% decrease in maintenance costs at its Bavaria 220 kV substation after deploying the ABB REC670 control relay. The upgrade, completed in Q3 2031, replaced the substation’s outdated electromechanical relays, which struggled with slow fault response and limited remote monitoring capabilities—critical gaps in ensuring reliable power supply to 450,000 residential and industrial customers in the region.
The Challenge: Outdated Relays Jeopardize Power Supply Reliability
Siemens Energy’s Bavaria substation is a key node in Germany’s transmission grid, facilitating the distribution of electricity from regional power plants to urban and rural areas. The substation’s legacy electromechanical control relays were installed over 20 years ago, presenting significant operational challenges:
- Slow Fault Response Triggers Extended Outages: The legacy relays had a fault detection and isolation time of 8-10 seconds, leading to widespread power outages when faults occurred (e.g., short circuits, overloads). This resulted in 18-22 unplanned outage incidents annually, with an average downtime of 45 minutes per incident—costing €3.2 million in annual revenue losses and customer compensation.
- Limited Remote Monitoring Increases On-Site Workload: The old relays lacked digital communication capabilities, requiring technicians to perform on-site inspections twice weekly to check relay status and collect operational data. This increased maintenance labor costs by €850,000 annually and delayed the detection of potential relay malfunctions.
- Poor Compatibility with Smart Grid Systems: The legacy electromechanical design couldn’t integrate with Siemens Energy’s new smart grid management platform, preventing real-time grid optimization and demand response capabilities. This hindered the substation’s ability to accommodate the growing share of renewable energy (e.g., wind, solar) in the regional grid.
- High Failure Rate of Mechanical Components: The moving parts in legacy relays were prone to wear and tear, with an average mean time between failures (MTBF) of 3-4 years. Frequent replacements increased spare parts costs by €420,000 annually and disrupted substation operations.
“Reliable substation operation is the foundation of a stable power grid—any delay in fault response can escalate minor issues into major outages,” said Klaus Müller, Siemens Energy Bavaria Grid Operations Director. “Our legacy relays were too slow and inflexible to meet the demands of modern smart grids. We needed a digital control relay solution that could deliver fast fault response, seamless smart grid integration, and remote monitoring capabilities.”
ABB REC670 Control Relay: Digital Intelligence for Substation Reliability
After evaluating solutions from Schneider Electric and GE Grid Solutions, Siemens Energy selected the ABB REC670 control relay for its ultra-fast fault response, comprehensive communication protocols, rugged design, and advanced diagnostic capabilities. Key features addressing Siemens Energy’s pain points include:
- Ultra-Fast Fault Detection & Isolation: The ABB REC670 control relay uses advanced digital signal processing to detect faults in <20 milliseconds and isolate faulty sections in <500 milliseconds—16x faster than legacy relays. This minimizes outage scope and reduces downtime significantly.
- Seamless Smart Grid Integration: Native support for IEC 61850, the global standard for substation automation, enables seamless integration with Siemens Energy’s smart grid management platform. This allows real-time data exchange, remote grid optimization, and demand response coordination—critical for integrating renewable energy sources.
- Comprehensive Remote Monitoring & Diagnostics: The REC670 relay transmits real-time operational data (e.g., fault logs, relay status, load levels) to Siemens Energy’s remote monitoring center via secure Ethernet and 4G/LTE. Predictive diagnostic algorithms detect potential issues (e.g., component degradation, communication errors) 4-6 weeks in advance, reducing on-site inspections by 70%.
- Rugged Digital Design with Long Lifespan: The solid-state digital design of the REC670 eliminates moving parts, increasing MTBF to 15 years—4x longer than legacy electromechanical relays. It operates reliably in extreme temperatures (-40°C to 70°C) and withstands electromagnetic interference (EMI) per IEC 61000-6-2 standards, ensuring stability in harsh substation environments.
- Flexible Protection & Control Functions: The relay offers configurable protection functions (overcurrent, earth fault, distance protection) to adapt to different substation configurations. Its modular design allows easy expansion of functions as grid requirements evolve, supporting future grid modernization initiatives.
Results: More Reliable Power Supply, Lower Costs
Six months after deploying the ABB REC670 control relay, Siemens Energy’s Bavaria substation achieved significant operational improvements:
| Metric |
Before ABB REC670 Control Relay |
After ABB REC670 Control Relay |
Improvement |
| Annual Unplanned Outages |
18-22 |
3-4 |
82% Reduction |
| Average Outage Downtime |
45 Minutes |
8 Minutes |
82% Reduction |
| Annual Maintenance Costs |
€850,000 |
€552,500 |
35% Reduction |
| Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) |
3-4 Years |
15 Years |
300% Increase |
| On-Site Inspection Frequency |
Twice Weekly |
Twice Monthly |
70% Reduction |
“The ABB REC670 control relay has transformed our substation operations,” Müller said. “We’ve achieved a dramatic reduction in outages, which has improved customer satisfaction and reduced revenue losses. The seamless integration with our smart grid platform has also allowed us to better integrate renewable energy, supporting Germany’s energy transition goals.”
Elena Wagner, ABB’s European Power Grid Automation Manager, commented: “Modern substations require control relays that combine fast fault response, digital connectivity, and long-term reliability. The ABB REC670 is engineered to meet these demands, helping grid operators enhance power supply reliability, reduce costs, and accelerate the transition to smart grids.”
Siemens Energy plans to deploy the ABB REC670 control relay across 32 additional substations in Germany, France, and Spain by 2038, targeting an 80% group-wide reduction in unplanned outages and a 30% decrease in maintenance costs.
Seville, Spain – January 2032 – First Solar, a global leader in photovoltaic (PV) energy solutions, has achieved 98% grid stability and a 28% increase in energy yield at its 500 MW Andalusia PV plant after deploying the ABB REC670 control relay. The upgrade, completed in Q4 2031, replaced the plant’s outdated protection relays, which struggled with unstable grid integration and inefficient fault handling—critical issues for large-scale PV plants feeding power into the Spanish national grid.
