This part of the IEC 61970 series provides a set of guidelines and general infrastructure capabilities required for the application of the EMS-API interface standards. This part of the IEC 61970 series describes typical integration scenarios where these standards are to be applied and the types of applications to be integrated. A reference model is defined to provide a framework for the application of the other parts of these EMS-API standards. This reference model is based on a component architecture that places the focus of the standards on component interfaces for information exchange between applications in a control center environment. While the primary objective of the EMS-API is to support the integration of applications within the control center, the reference model is also applicable to information exchanges between control center applications and systems external to the control center environment, such as other control centers, ISOs, RTOs, and distribution systems. This standard describes the role of the other parts of the standard, including the Common Information Model (CIM) in the IEC 61970-3XX series, the Component Interface Specifications (CIS) in the IEC 61970-4XX series, and Technology Mappings in the IEC 61970-5XX series. This part of the IEC 61970 series also includes general capabilities that are needed by the integration infrastructure to facilitate the exchange of information via the component interfaces specified by the CIS. While the integration infrastructure itself is not part of this standard, it is expected to provide certain essential services to support the EMS-API interface standards. These services are enumerated in Clause 6. This part of the IEC 61970 series does not specify individual implementations or products, nor does it constrain the representation of information within a computer system application. This standard specifies the externally visible interfaces, including semantics and syntax, required to support the interoperability of products supplied by different vendors.