The new international standard for communication networks and systems in substations, IEC61850, is expected to involve a profound evolution in electrical power systems. The new functionalities supported by an intelligent application of IEC61850 must result in a significant improvement of stability and reliability of power systems. Protection systems play a leading role in power system stability and reliability, since those depend on correct, rapid and selective disturbances elimination. A new protection scheme, performed by new intelligent electronic devices (IEDs) based on the new features brought by IEC61850, is presented in this paper. The implementation of the proposed scheme involves important cost reductions, at the same time that the protective redundancy of the system is improved.