Supporting the energy demand in cities is increasingly gaining significance because of the ongoing urban expansion and population growth (Cai et al., 2022). The importance of the energy demand is further stressed by the instability of energy costs in the global market, the risk to energy security, and the introduction of climate change mitigation strategies. Additionally, cities account for over 80% of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions (Suab et al., 2016). Currently, over half of the global population resides in urban areas, with projections to keep increasing until 2050 and to further contribute to higher GHG emissions (Yazdanie and Orehounig, 2021).

Notably, around 70% of the population in Colombia lives in urban areas, mainly in large cities (DANE, 2019). In total, urban areas in Colombia account for 87% of national electricity consumption (Superservicios, 2020) and 97% of the use of natural gas (Superintendencia de Servicios Publicos Domiciliarios, 2021). In total, large municipalities (Inh > 100,000) account for over 60% of the Colombian population (DANE, 2019), some 65% of the Gross Domestic Product (DANE, 2021), and 60% of the electricity consumption (UPME, 2020). Moreover, intermediate municipalities (20,000 < inh < 100,000), characterized by a low urbanization ratio, account for 24% of the population and 26% of the electricity consumption. However, regardless of the significance of municipalities for energy consumption, no energy management strategies to improve energy efficiency are considered (UPME, 2022). Without tools for energy management and planning in intermediate municipalities in Colombia, this research aims to fill this gap by implementing a methodology for energy diagnosis as an initial stage in developing a municipal energy management system (MEMS).

MEMS can improve performance by focusing on energy efficiency, conservation, and renewable energy sources (Denis and Parker, 2009). To this end, municipal authorities in different countries successfully used Energy Management Systems (EMS) (Jekabsone et al., 2020), which reduces energy consumption and its costs while mitigating GHG emissions (Pochtovyuk et al., 2021). Furthermore, while EMS primarily focuses on improving energy efficiency, ISO 50001 permits considering using renewable energy sources within the EMS (Kaselofsky et al., 2021). Implementing EMS at the municipal scale is an emerging area that needs further research and development (Dzene et al., 2015; Jekabsone et al., 2020). Municipalities need EMS considering local conditions and possible synergic energy systems (Dhakal, 2009). Generally, urban areas concentrate the energy consumption, while rural areas have a greater availability of renewable energy sources. Intermediate municipalities in Colombia can benefit from developing a coordinated local energy management framework between its urban and rural areas (Ren et al., 2014).

Although the government in Colombia implemented policies to promote energy efficiency (Cabello et al., 2020) and renewable energy (Cabello et al., 2019; Mendoza et al., 2021), there are no adequate strategies for intermediate municipalities in urban and rural areas (Duque et al., 2021; UPME, 2021a, 2022). Currently, the main initiative addressing municipal energy management has been the implementation of the “Energetic City” in three large municipalities (i.e., a Switzerland management tool to promote the implementation of energy efficiency, renewable energy sources, and green mobility projects in municipalities) (Swisscontact, 2021). Regardless of the importance of intermediate municipalities for energy consumption in Colombia, there is no discussion on energy management at this level.

One main challenge to municipal EMS is highlighting the need to improve municipal energy performance. Therefore, the first step to promoting municipal EMS is the awareness of local authorities (Fenton et al., 2016). For the awareness of authorities, the local energy diagnostic is a convenient tool (Kurahassi, 2006; Soto et al., 2018) to assess the supply and demand sides for the residential, industrial, and service sectors and identify the critical factors of the end-use energy (Brandoni and Polonara, 2012a,b). Therefore, this study focuses on developing an EMS methodology for municipal energy diagnostics in intermediate Colombian municipalities. The methodology developed is implemented in the Sabanalarga municipality.

Municipal infrastructure provides high-energy consumer services (i.e., electricity, natural gas, and mobility). Thus, municipal energy management (MEM) has a significant potential to contribute to improving energy performance at the local and national scales (Schellong, 2016). Different projects improved municipal energy performance, making them more efficient, less costly, and sustainable (Jekabsone et al., 2020; Zhou et al., 2014). MEM focuses on short, medium, and long-term strategic planning for local energy needs (Brandoni and Polonara, 2012a,b; Sperling et al., 2011) and decrease the energy poverty in urban areas (Kim et al., 2016). Additionally, MEM stresses the importance of exploiting the renewable energy sources available, with several developed countries funding bottom-up renewable energy strategies (RES) to complement the national and regional renewable energy policies with municipal contributions (Visintainer et al., 2021). The implementation of MEM is projected to play a significant role because of its particular focus on renewable sources (Denis and Parker, 2009).

Currently, ISO 50001 is the most used standard to guide the implementation of an EMS toward holistic management of energy efficiency rather than isolated energy-saving measures (Cabello et al., 2021). While ISO-certificated EMS in companies is widespread globally, showing relevant results (Lobo and Maldonado, 2022), the few EMS-certified municipalities are mainly found in developed countries (Jekabsone et al., 2020). A project implemented in 28 European municipalities resulted in energy savings of over 10% 1 year after the ISO 50001 certification of the MEM system, which stresses the importance of promoting this approach (Kaselofsky et al., 2021).

The ISO 50001 standard establishes a general methodology to implement and operate EMS. The energy consumption in municipalities is located in the public sector and the residential, production, and service sectors (Dzene et al., 2015). Numerous stakeholders influence energy services in municipalities, while some economic, cultural, and social factors must be considered (Kostevsek et al., 2016). Generally, municipalities lack a specialized energy management administrative structure or organized energy data collection; thus, missing or insufficient data is one significant barrier to MEM (Jekabsone et al., 2020). Moreover, municipalities are suitable micro-units for implementing renewable energy microgrid systems (Burton and Hubacek, 2007).

Based on the importance of adequate guidance for implementing MEM (Beihmanis and Rosa, 2016) and the required precertification work (Kaselofsky et al., 2021), a four steps methodology was established before certification (Jekabsone et al., 2020):

Frequently, the energy diagnosis shows that energy consumption data is neither monitored nor analyzed. In other cases, energy management is implemented without a holistic view, inadequate data collection, and low transparency (Jekabsone et al., 2020).

The energy balance involves the comprehensive bookkeeping of all energy flows entering, being generated, and exiting the municipality. Meanwhile, the energy diagnosis is aimed at establishing the interplay between energy and variables of an economic, social, political, environmental, and technological nature, among others (Gómez-Ceballos and Morán-Perafán, 2015). In this manner, the methodology employed in this research is primarily centered around the energy balance, followed by conducting a municipal energy diagnosis utilizing the quantified municipal information.

Various methodologies for conducting energy balances have been implemented in cities at both national and international levels. In the case of Colombia, there is limited research on these methodologies at the municipal level, energy balances are predominantly scaled at the national level (UPME, 2021b). Table 1 provides a comprehensive overview of the energy balance methodologies applied across various cities, illuminating their respective disadvantage in the context of their application within intermediary municipalities in Colombia. These methodologies share the common aspect of accounting for primary energy, secondary energy, external energy sources or imports, indigenous energy sources, their transformation, and final consumption. Drawing from this comparative analysis, the methodology to be adopted in the municipality of Sabanalarga (Atlántico) is chosen.

After analyzing the energy balance methodologies presented in Table 1, the one proposed by OLADE (Latin American Energy Organization) was chosen, and it was implemented in the city of San Juan de Pasto—Colombia in 2011 (Gómez-Ceballos and Morán-Perafán, 2015), the criteria for this selection are as follows:

The selected methodology uses the energy conservation principle to perform the energy balance. Applying this equation to primary energy, it can be derived that the overall supply is:

Where: TS: Total supply; Pr: Production; Im: Importation; IC: Inventory Change; Ex: Exportation; Nu: Not used.

The same equation is applied across secondary energy sources, transformation centers, and final consumption centers.

Leveraging data from municipal, departmental, state databases, as well as energy supplying enterprises, a comprehensive municipal energy balance was conducted for the timeframe spanning from 2010 to 2022. This endeavor was necessitated by the absence of energy-related records pertaining to the municipality for years predating 2010 (SUI, 2022; Manotas, 2020; SICOM, 2022; Gomez and UPME, 2019). This timeframe is adequate for conducting the diagnosis, as it not only falls within the ranges established by the methodologies implemented in Table 1, but also enables the identification of trends in energy consumption and indicators. These trends, in turn, will facilitate the execution of a comprehensive analysis.

The municipal energy diagnosis generates the input variables for the energy planning proposed by ISO50001 (2018). And it constitutes the initial stage of this phase for implementing a municipal energy management system as depicted in Figure 2.

The diagnosis focuses on a preliminary view of the municipal energy system to highlight energy-saving opportunities and propose energy performance indicators. Two factors must be assessed in more detail: municipal energy sources and sectorial energy demand from each source. Energy sources can be identified by interviewing municipal authorities and energy stakeholders, assessing the municipal energy mix, companies, and the state of energy infrastructure, and estimating the renewable potential on the supply side (Kostevsek et al., 2016).

The dates and information used in this study is based on interviewing stakeholders and other actors, analyzing available data, and comparing to other studies (Kamenders et al., 2017; Beihmanis and Rosa, 2016; Brandoni and Polonara, 2012a,b; Correa et al., 2021; Dzene et al., 2015; Rad, 2010; Soto et al., 2018), and the current governmental energy policy in Colombia (UPME, 2022b):

Sabanalarga, with 414 km² and 101,843 inhabitants, is a second-level municipality from the Atlántico department (i.e., the Colombian Caribe). The MGDP (municipal gross domestic product) in 2021 accounted for 842 MMCOP (i.e., around 224.5 MUSD) (DANE, 2023). The main economic activities are tertiary activities like commerce, public services, services (e.g., hotels, restaurants), banks, and transport. Historically, the municipality has been one leading supplier of agricultural products in the department; thus, agriculture, livestock breeding, and fishing are also important activities (Manotas, 2020). Moreover, although the industrial sector grew significantly during the last ten years, it remains a marginal contribution to the municipal economy.

The energy diagnosis of the municipality reveals that the transportation, residential, and commercial sectors are the primary energy consumers, relying on outdated and inefficient technologies that contribute to significant energy losses. Firewood, natural gas, and electricity serve as the main energy sources for residential and commercial activities, with the increasing demand for firewood raising serious environmental and health concerns. These findings align with previous studies (Gómez-Ceballos and Morán-Perafán, 2015), which highlight the inefficiencies of traditional energy consumption patterns in municipalities with similar socio-economic conditions. However, the implications of these trends extend beyond localized concerns, underscoring the urgent need for comprehensive policy interventions at municipal, regional, and national levels.

A key challenge identified is the excessive reliance on inefficient combustion-based energy sources, particularly in the transportation sector, which remains a major consumer of gasoline and diesel. Suggest that transitioning to cleaner fuels such as natural gas, adopting hybrid or electric vehicles, and modernizing public transportation systems can significantly mitigate emissions and improve energy efficiency. The municipality’s low level of industrialization translates into minimal electricity demand, which contrasts with higher energy-intensive urban centers. This lack of industrial development limits economic productivity and inhibits the adoption of advanced energy technologies, as evidenced by the discrepancy in energy intensity between Sabanalarga (0.4576 BOE/MCOP) and Pasto (0.1546 BOE/MCOP) in 2011 (Bermejo Altamar et al., 2022).

The residential sector accounts for 55% of total energy consumption, with electricity, natural gas, and firewood being the dominant energy sources. Comparatively, household electricity consumption in the municipality surpasses regional and national averages (Hernández, 2017; UPME, 2021b). This disparity highlights the municipality’s underdeveloped industrial and agricultural sectors and suggests an urgent need to implement demand-side energy management policies. Potential strategies include promoting renewable energy sources such as modern biomass and solar systems, expanding electricity and natural gas access in rural areas, enhancing energy efficiency in residential appliances, and reducing illegal electricity connections. Moreover, replacing traditional cooking stoves with more efficient alternatives can substantially lower firewood dependence and improve air quality.

Energy poverty remains a critical issue in Sabanalarga and Colombia, particularly in rural areas where energy access and affordability are significantly lower than in urban centers. National data indicate that the Basic Subsistence Consumption (BSC) of electricity varies from 130 kWh/month in cold regions to 187 kWh/month in warmer climates (Cabello et al., 2022a). However, rural households in the municipality fall below these thresholds, exacerbating socio-economic disparities. While multidimensional poverty has decreased from 50.8% in 2005 to 36.5% in 2018 (DANE, 2023), rural communities continue to experience inadequate access to modern energy services. Addressing energy poverty requires coordinated governmental policies and infrastructure investments aligned with Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7), which emphasizes universal access to affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy.

The transportation sector presents additional opportunities for energy optimization. Upgrading diesel injection technology in public transportation, promoting the conversion of gasoline vehicles to natural gas, and encouraging the adoption of hybrid and electric vehicles can enhance both energy efficiency and environmental sustainability. Moreover, restructuring public transport systems to optimize routes and vehicle usage can further reduce energy consumption and emissions.

The integration of modern technologies and renewable energy sources into agriculture and livestock is crucial for improving economic productivity and sustainability. Agricultural biomass presents an untapped potential as a renewable energy source that could support the municipality’s energy transition.

Across Colombia, 1,123 municipalities collectively account for 26% of national electricity consumption (SUI, 2022) while representing 24% of the country’s population (DANE, 2023). To align with SDG 7, municipalities must implement comprehensive energy management strategies that enhance efficiency, diversify energy sources, and foster sustainable energy consumption. A holistic approach to energy planning can drive economic growth, alleviate energy poverty, and ensure equitable access to clean energy for both urban and rural populations. Future research should explore region-specific barriers to energy transitions, assess the socio-economic feasibility of proposed interventions, and examine the long-term sustainability of energy policies to facilitate an equitable energy transformation.

The energy diagnosis of Sabanalarga, which is the initial stage of creating a municipal energy management system, is highlighted in this paper. In line with the first action plan of the Rational and Energy Efficiency Utilisation Program (PAI-PROURE) 2020–2030, the next step is to create energy planning to establish goals to enhance municipal energy performance that are in line with the federal government (UPME, 2022).

The choice of the OLADE-proposed energy balance methodology was made possible by the evaluation of several energy balance approaches used globally (Gonzales and OLADE, 2017). This choice facilitates the diagnostic process by enabling the thorough quantification of all energy flows inside the municipality. In the residential and transportation sectors, respectively, electricity and liquid fuels are the main energy carriers causing increased consumption.

Establishing a baseline to compare the municipal energy performance and the achievement of the management goals is made possible by the energy diagnosis. The municipal energy management system’s performance indicators are listed in Table 3. These results will help the municipality create energy policies that aren’t already included in the municipal development plan (Manotas, 2020). Monitoring the development of municipal energy performance and the application of energy saving measures are made possible by the energy performance indicators. According to the diagnosis, in order to enhance well-being and lessen the negative effects of firewood use on the environment and society, the development plan and energy regulations must take into account correcting the disparity in access to contemporary energy between urban and rural areas. Since the transportation, residential, and commercial sectors use the most energy, they require special attention in municipal energy management.