This part of IEC 61970 deals with the common information model (CIM), an abstract model that represents all the major objects in an electric utility enterprise typically involved in utility operations.

The object classes represented in the CIM are abstract in nature and may be used in a wide variety of applications. The use of the CIM goes far beyond its application in an EMS. This standard should be understood as a tool to enable integration in any domain where a common power system model is needed to facilitate interoperability and plug compatibility between applications and systems independent of any particular implementation.

By providing a standard way of representing power system resources as object classes and attributes, along with their relationships, the CIM facilitates the integration of energy management system (EMS) applications developed independently by different vendors, between entire EMS systems developed independently, or between an EMS system and other systems concerned with different aspects of power system operations, such as generation or distribution management. SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) is modeled to the extent necessary to support power system simulation and inter-control center communication. The CIM facilitates integration by defining a common language (i.e., semantics and syntax) based on the CIM to enable these applications or systems to access public data and exchange information independent of how such information is represented internally.

Due to the size of the complete CIM, the object classes contained in the CIM are grouped into a number of logical packages, each of which represents a certain part of the overall power system being modeled. Collections of these packages are progressed as separate International Standards. This particular International Standard specifies a base set of packages which provide a logical view of the functional aspects of energy management system (EMS) information within the electric utility enterprise that is shared between all applications. Other standards specify more specific parts of the model that are needed by only certain applications. Subclause 4.2 provides the current grouping of packages into standard documents.