Last year’s unsuccessful attempt by five Montana cities to buy NorthWestern Energy made some people nervous.

However, a bill introduced last week to let a new state power authority negotiate to acquire the company — but only if NorthWestern’s deal with the Australian-owned Babcock and Brown Infrastructure doesn’t go through — ought to calm some of those fears.

The bill, by Sen. Greg Lind, D-Missoula, is carefully written to ensure state ownership would actually benefit consumers.

Senate Bill 558 specifically gives the Public Service Commission power to regulate the “rates, services and practices” of the authority, which could not buy or construct electrical generating capacity without PSC approval. In fact, the PSC would be barred from approving the purchase of NorthWestern unless it can show that the new authority’s utility rates would not be higher than they would be under continued private ownership.

The bill makes the authority’s property taxable — at 12 percent of market value — so local governments would not lose tax base.

The power authority would be governed by five members appointed by the governor. If the authority does actually buy NorthWestern’s Montana holdings, future members should be elected by the voters living in the area served.

In practice, of course, the nuts and bolts operations of the utility would continue to be done by the people who are doing the work now.

Lind’s bill given Montana flexibility in the event the PSC rejects BBI’s $2.2 billion deal. If BBI’s purchase does go through, the law creating the authority would terminate. But at least the state would have kept its options open.