Up to half of the coal companies in Ordos, one of the major domestic coal producing regions in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, are reported to have reduced or stopped production, because of falling electricity consumption and an increased use of hydropower generation.

Dai Bing, director of the coal industry information department at JYD Online Corp, a Beijing-based bulk commodity consultancy, said on Thursday that thermal coal stockpiles of production companies, traders and coal-fired power plants in the area "are all at a high level".

He added that coal-fired power generation is also not expected to rise this summer because of the abundant hydropower being generated.