The Use of CIM Standards in Smart Grid Applications

Many Electric Utility Companies worldwide have adopted the CIM standard as a platform to assist in the integration of systems in support of the Smart Grid. In order to achieve the goals of the Smart Grid initiatives in the US and around the world, the primary systems within the utility, from the Energy Management Systems to the Back Offices systems to the equipment in the field have to be completely interoperable and be able to exchange information seamlessly. Starting in the early part of this century, the interoperability of the various systems in the Utility industry have used the CIM standards as a mechanism to exchange information and that standard is now in use at Transmission, Generation and Distribution companies. The CIM standard is now being used as the integration interface to achieve the interoperability required for Smart Grid applications.