On an early winter morning at Häggen distribution substation just outside of Östersund, Sweden, Jämtkraft Elnät’s protection relay team gathered in front of the old switchgear panels. The switchgear from 1992 had served faithfully for over three decades. The frame was robust – but the station’s “brain” was starting to get tired. It lacked modern communication capabilities, measurement data, and analytical capacity. For the protection engineers, it was clear that something needed to be done. The question was by whom.
Electrification is moving rapidly in northern Sweden and demands robust, flexible, and resource-smart solutions. As the grid operator within Jämtkraft AB, Jämtkraft Elnät carries a major responsibility: ensuring Jämtland county has a safe and uninterrupted power supply, year-round, for 65,000 customers, maintained through 9,000 kilometers of power lines, and 51 distribution substations. Modernizing without unnecessary new construction is an important part of the strategy.
At a crossroads – and a decision to grow internally
When the protection relays at Häggen substation began reaching end-of-life, Jämtkraft Elnät faced a crucial choice: bring in external expertise or grow internally. For Rebecka Brink, network planner, the decision was clear.
“Building up a skilled protection relay team is valuable future-proofing,” she said. “If we have our own experts with different backgrounds and experiences, we do not need to compete for external help. We learn as we go.”
With a new team in place, the modernization became not just a technical project but a learning journey built on confidence, curiosity, and shared experience. Alexander Henriksson, one of the protection relay technicians, described the shift in daily work: “It’s more fun to work when we do the installation ourselves. And since we know every detail, we can solve problems faster.”
The pace accelerated the day Jämtkraft Elnät set up ABB’s demo protection relay in its own lab. Here, in a warm and spacious environment, the team could test functions, experiment, and challenge themselves - without time pressure or operational risks. It was a turning point.
Suddenly, it was no longer a question of whether they could do the installation themselves. The question became how much they stood to learn from doing it.
"Configuring the protection relays in the lab before they’re installed in the distribution substation is a major advantage,’ said Alexander Henriksson. 
Alexander Henriksson is in his element in the lab. 
A demo relay for testing and internal competence building.
Support, quality and fast guidance
Jämtkraft Elnät had good experience with ABB’s earlier protection solutions, but for Rebecka, it was equally important to have a partner who listened, responded quickly, and made the team feel supported from start to finish.
“We choose well-known partners who we know are reliable and stand for high quality,” she said.
For maintenance manager Christoffer Johnsen, the direct support was crucial. With training at ABB’s facilities in Vaasa, Finland, access to a demo protection relay, and close dialogue, made the transfer of expertise a natural part of the project – rather than a separate activity.
“The combination of training, testing opportunities, and fast technical support gave the team the confidence it needed,” he said.
REX615 brings new life to Häggen
The choice fell on REX615 from ABB’s Relion product family. Eleven new protection relays were installed, all by Jämtkraft Elnät’s own staff.
For Tomas Dannberg, sales representative at ABB, the impact of the upgrade was clear: “You could say that a protection relay acts as a substation’s brain – and now Häggen is smarter and safer with features like earth-fault protection, disturbance recorder, and event recording functions.”
The installation went smoothly, largely thanks to the team’s preparatory work in the lab. The unified design and modular hardware of the REX615 created a sense of familiarity and gave the team confidence. Safety also improved. Installing the arc guard TVOC-2 immediately increased peace of mind.
“The protection relays are user-friendly and we especially appreciated being able to configure them in the lab before going on-site. It saved time and gave us a better work environment - and the benefit of having colleagues nearby to discuss things with,” said Alexander.
With new protection relays, Jämtkraft Elnät gained modern communication capabilities, detailed measurement data, and the diagnostics required by today’s power grid. 
REX615 protection relay – the smart upgrade driving the Häggen distribution substation outside Östersund in Sweden. 
"The arc guard is definitely an important protection for us working in the substation," said the protection relay technicians at Jämtkraft Elnät.
A smarter grid – and faster fault management
Customers feel the impact of modernization through shorter outages and fewer disruptions. Operational reliability has increased, and with more measurement data and detailed disturbance records, operations staff can understand what happened almost immediately – sometimes before anyone even starts the service vehicle.
“For our customers, electricity should always work. We work behind the scenes to replace equipment and keep the power grid in top condition,” said Rebecka.
Häggen was the first distribution substation Jämtkraft Elnät modernized entirely on its own (in modern time). The experience will be put to use right away – on average, the utility builds a new distribution substation and complete one relay replacement project every year. But modernization is not just about economics, it is also about resource-smart choices, where equipment that still works is allowed to keep working.
Any advice for other utilities?
“Even if it feels tough at first – think about the long-term value of building strong in-house expertise. In the long run, it becomes both cheaper and more fun,” said Rebecka.
A modern substation ensures reliable power to thousands of customers. But the real gain is even greater: a skilled team inspires confidence, reassurance, and the ability to act. The partnership with ABB equipped the Jämtkraft team with what they needed to succeed – and they put that capability into action, now and in the future.
ABB's delivery
- REX615 protection relays (standard and wide) that replaced the station’s original relays from 1992
- TVOC-2 arc guard for increased personal safety
- Training at ABB’s facilities in Vaasa, Finland
- Demo protection relay for testing and building skills internally
- Support and advice throughout the entire project
