Who can forget the ice storm of 2007?  Families spent weeks in the dark and it took line crews from other states to help put the Ozarks back online.  But what if another storm like that darkens your doorstep, and there aren't enough workers to get the lights back on?  A new report says that could be a harsh reality, and soon.

"Utilities are something I don't think we think a lot about until we get into a situation like we had in January 2007" says Brad Stokes, Business Manager for IBEW Local 753.

It was during that ice storm that we learned just how precious power can be.  So imagine going through it again, without enough utility workers.

"In the next five years they're estimating that between 25% and 1/3 of all utility workers will be of an age of retirement" says Stokes.

That word comes from a nationwide task force that's looking at the future of America's energy jobs.   It says 160,000 of the nation's electrical and utility workers could leave their jobs by 2013.   The report says a lack of qualified workers in the pipeline could mean the public will experience more power outages, and longer waits for repairs after major storms.

"This is obviously a serious issue for everyone" says Mark Viguet, City Utilities spokesman.

City utilities believes the looming retirements may not hit the Ozarks as hard because of aggressive efforts to train new workers to pick up the slack.

"that's what we've done at City Utilities in cooperation with a number of groups, like the I.B.E.W and the Missouri Public Utilities Alliance to help us be ready for the future" says Viguet.

Another reason the Ozarks may not feel the brunt of a worker shortage is thanks to Ozarks Technical Community College.  It started a pre-apprenticeship program to get potential employees interested in the field sooner.

City Utilities says its also focusing on wage and benefit packages to keep current workers in place so they aren't tempted to fill the void in other areas of the country when retirees call it a day.

"We feel confident that we've put the things in place today in terms of those things that we can do a good job of keeping those folks here in the future" says Viguet.

There are currently 8 people in the City Utilities apprenticeship program who will move into full-time roles over the next several years. In this year's federal bailout package the government also allocated $500,000,000 to train new utility workers to help fill the retirement void.