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                        SUBSIDIARIES OF THE REGISTRANTS


Subsidiaries of Washington Energy Company:

Washington Natural Gas Company, a Washington corporation, distributes natural
gas at the retail level in the Puget Sound area of western Washington.

         WNG CAP I, Inc., a Washington corporation, and WNG CAP II, Inc., a
         Washington corporation, were formed to provide operational flexibility
         with respect to firm transportation agreements of Washington Natural
         Gas Company.

Thermal Energy, Inc., a Washington corporation, owns or leases undeveloped coal
reserves and surface rights to undeveloped coal in Montana.

         Thermal Resources, Inc., a Montana corporation, is a wholly-owned
         subsidiary of Thermal Energy, Inc.  Thermal Resources, Inc., is a
         single purpose company that leases undeveloped coal reserves in
         Montana to Montco, a partnership controlled by Thermal Energy, Inc.

ThermRail, Inc., a Washington corporation, was formed to participate as a
partner in the Tongue River Railroad Company.  The purpose of Tongue River
Railroad Company is to develop and operate a rail line to transport coal from
future mines in Montana's Tongue River area to existing east-west rail lines.

         Tongue River Holdings, Inc., a Montana corporation, is a limited
         partner in Tongue River Railroad Company, a Montana limited
         partnership.  ThermRail, Inc., owns 87.5% of the common stock of this
         corporation.

WECO Finance Company, a Washington corporation, is holder of the common stock
of Mercer Insurance Company Limited.

         Mercer Insurance Company Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of WECO
         Finance Company, is a Bermuda domiciled corporation providing primary
         liability insurance for Washington Energy Company and its affiliates.

Washington Energy Services Company, a Washington corporation, was formed
October 1, 1993 to consolidate the merchandise marketing activities that
previously were part of Washington Natural Gas Company and a former subsidiary
of Washington Energy.

Washington Energy Gas Marketing, a Washington corporation, was formed in 1994
to assume certain contractual arrangements excluded from the merger of
Washington Energy Resources Company, the former oil and gas exploration and
production subsidiary of Washington Energy, with a subsidiary of Cabot Oil &
Gas Corporation.