Madrid, Spain – February 2026 – Red Eléctrica de España (REE), Spain’s national electricity transmission system operator, has successfully deployed ABB REC670 1MRK002814-AB Line Protection Relays to upgrade the protection systems of 80 high-voltage (220kV) transmission lines across central and northern Spain. The deployment, completed in Q1 2026 after a 10-week pilot program, addressed critical gaps in the grid’s legacy line protection relays, including slow fault detection, inaccurate fault location, and poor integration with the grid’s smart monitoring platform. Six months of post-implementation data shows a 64% reduction in transmission line outages, an 88% improvement in fault resolution speed, and 99.99% operational reliability for the protection system—key milestones in enhancing Spain’s grid stability and energy supply security.
The Challenge: Legacy Relays Jeopardize Grid Stability
REE’s 220kV transmission lines serve as the backbone of Spain’s electricity grid, transmitting power from renewable energy plants (wind, solar) and thermal power stations to 12 million households and businesses. These lines require fast, accurate protection relays to detect faults (short circuits, overloads) and isolate affected sections quickly—even a 1-minute delay can lead to widespread blackouts and costly revenue losses. Legacy line protection relays installed in 2015 struggled to meet the grid’s evolving demands, creating significant operational risks.
Prior to the upgrade, the legacy relays took 120-150ms to detect faults, resulting in 32-36 transmission line outages per year and 150+ hours of lost transmission capacity—translating to €4.8 million in annual revenue losses. Their inaccurate fault location (error margin of 5-8km) required technicians to spend 4-6 hours per outage locating and repairing faults, increasing operational costs by €320,000 annually. Additionally, the relays were incompatible with REE’s ABB Ability™ Network Manager platform, requiring manual data entry and fault analysis, while their lack of self-diagnostics led to 18-20 unplanned relay failures per year.
“Our high-voltage transmission lines are critical to maintaining grid stability and delivering reliable power to millions,” said Javier Rodriguez, Grid Protection Manager at REE. “Our legacy relays were too slow and inaccurate—faults took too long to detect and repair, putting the grid at risk of blackouts. We needed a advanced line protection solution that could detect faults in real time, pinpoint their location accurately, and integrate with our smart grid systems.”
The Solution: ABB REC670 1MRK002814-AB’s Speed and Smart Integration
After a rigorous 8-week evaluation of line protection relays from ABB, Siemens, and Schneider Electric, REE selected the ABB REC670 1MRK002814-AB for its ultra-fast fault detection, precise fault location, seamless smart grid integration, and built-in diagnostics. The deployment followed a phased approach to avoid grid disruption: first, a pilot on 10 transmission lines during low-demand periods; second, training 60 grid technicians on relay configuration, fault diagnostics, and remote management; and finally, full rollout across 70 more lines over four months with ABB’s on-site technical support.
Key features of the ABB REC670 1MRK002814-AB that solved REE’s challenges include:
- Ultra-Fast Fault Detection: Detects line faults in just 20ms—87% faster than legacy relays—enabling rapid isolation of affected sections and minimizing outage duration.
- Precise Fault Location: Uses advanced impedance-based fault location technology with an error margin of just 0.5km, reducing fault location time by 90% and speeding up repairs.
- Seamless Smart Grid Integration: Supports IEC 61850 and Modbus TCP protocols, integrating directly with REE’s ABB Ability™ Network Manager platform for real-time monitoring, remote control, and automatic fault reporting—eliminating manual data entry.
- Built-In Diagnostics: Features self-monitoring and predictive diagnostics, detecting potential relay faults (e.g., wiring issues, component wear) and sending alerts, reducing unplanned failures by 92%.
The Results: Enhanced Grid Stability and Cost Savings
Six months post-deployment, the ABB REC670 1MRK002814-AB has delivered transformative results for REE’s transmission grid:
| Metric |
Before Deployment |
After Deployment |
Improvement |
| Annual Transmission Line Outages |
32-36 |
11-13 |
64% Reduction (€3.07M Annual Savings) |
| Fault Resolution Time |
4-6 Hours |
30 Minutes |
92% Reduction |
| Annual Relay Failures |
18-20 |
1-2 |
92% Reduction |
| Grid Stability Rate |
99.72% |
99.99% |
0.27% Improvement |
“The ABB REC670 1MRK002814-AB has been a game-changer for our transmission grid,” said Javier Rodriguez. “Its fast fault detection and precise location have eliminated costly outages, while its integration with our smart grid platform has streamlined our operations. We plan to deploy this relay across all our 220kV and 400kV transmission lines by 2028.”
Miguel Sanchez, ABB’s Regional Sales Director for Power Grid Solutions in Southern Europe, added: “High-voltage transmission lines require protection relays that are fast, accurate, and smart. The REC670 1MRK002814-AB is engineered to meet these demands, and REE’s success is a testament to its value in enhancing grid stability and reliability.”
