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WONG:In China, Chinese people are facing severe power shortages. The main problem is that coal prices are rising, but the prices of electricity are fixed. This means that power companies are paying out more, and not getting any more back. And to avoid losing money, many power plants are being forced to reduce output or shut down. Here's more:STORY:So-called "Brownouts" have hit at least 13 provinces. A brownout just means that the electricity in a certain area has been cut off or reduced.And state media said that, at one point, the nationwide demand for electricity was 70 gigawatts more than the supply. That's the same as most of Britain's entire supply of electricity.Residents in Beijing said the country had become too dependent on coal.[Liu, Bejing Resident]:"Our country depends too much on coal, and we should use other resources to generate electricity, such as nuclear power. In this way, we will not suffer from power shortage due to weather-related reasons or transportation."Environmental factors have made the money problems worse. A drought in central and southwestern China has reduced the power output of hydroelectric dams. And the ongoing heavy snow in other parts of China have shut down coal plants in those regions.But the main problem may be economic mismanagement. The chief delegate of an energy foundation in Beijing says many plants are being turned off because of the fixed power prices.[Yang Fuqiang, Energy Analyst]:"The main reason is power plants have reduced their capacity, and in addition there is a transportation problem, which all resulted in the coal prices hike. Government should coordinate the relations between coal and electricity prices, and make room for the future electricity price rise."Analysts also say rising inflation will make the problem difficult to fix.China faced a similar problem last month during a national diesel fuel shortage. At that time, refiners reduced their own output to save money, and forced the CCP to raise fuel prices, amidst growing social unrest.