Section 2. Declaration of National Policy. —

It is hereby declared the policy of the State to:

1. promote the sustainable development in the rural areas through rural electrification;

2. empower and strengthen the National Electrification Administration (NEA) to pursue the electrification program and bring electricity, through the electric cooperatives as its implementing arm, to the countryside even in missionary or economically unviable areas;

3. empower and enable electric cooperatives to cope with the changes brought about by the restructuring of the electric power industry pursuant to Republic Act No. 9136, otherwise known as the "Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001".