WOOD COUNTY- One electric company is taking steps to relieve what they call an alarming rate of deaths for people who are committing crimes against them. They say burglars are getting electrocuted when they try to steal copper.

The Wood County Electric Co-Op says copper is currently a hot commodity due to the rising demand from Asia. Some see it as an easy way to make an extra buck. Co-op managers say it's especially hard on them and turns into more money out of customer's pockets.

To help in the fight against these thefts they have started to use new nano technology called Datadots.

General Manager for the company, Debra Robinson, says the product is sprayed onto the wire and once it dries is invisible to the naked eye. These dots contain a marking system that local officials can use to identify the metal by using a black light. The information can then be put into Datadot's web site where police will be given contact information as to who owns the property.

Robinson says almost 30 states, including Texas, have passed recent laws to address the issue and have added felony charges as well as penalties for dealers.