Some Beijing residents may feel a colder winter because the city's coal supply is running under the alert line for both power use and civil use, sources with the local authority said.

The current coal storage for power use is under the alert line while the storage for civil use is only about 45 percent, a clearly low level, said an official with the Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform.

The municipal government and Beijing railway department have established a joint mechanism to guarantee transporting an additional 500,000 tons of coal for heating by the end of December.

It is expected that Beijing will consume 14.6 million tons of coal this winter, 5.5 million tons for electricity, 4.5 million tons for heating and 1 million tons for civil use, according to the commission.