Absolutely I agree with you. We always need to start with private industry and what industry believes would be appropriate government support.
In our country, we find that our national guard, and to some extent other military forces, can provide for road clearance, can provide for security, can provide for other support functions that utilities actually find useful. But it always has to start with the utilities, since they are responsible for power restoration. What do they think the military can do that is genuinely useful? That is always the starting point for any such discussion.
The role of the military will always be limited, but in these catastrophic events could prove to be very important.