Natural gas is easier on the environment than other fossil fuels, releasing up to fifty percent less emissions. Large players on the gas market in Germany include RWE Dea and E.ON Ruhrgas. Consumers in Düsseldorf are free to choose between many suppliers, though a majority of residents rely on the local Stadtwerke utility.

The use of gas in Düsseldorf as a power source stretches back a long way. Nowadays, gas stems from national sources in Germany as well as such countries as Norway and The Netherlands. The fracking technique is highly controversial and disputed in Germany.

Renewable energy including solar and wind generation or an atomic opt out is highly complex in Germany. Following deregulation and consumer activity, many suppliers offer electricity but Düsseldorf continues to have some of the highest energy prices in Europe.

When expats rent a house or flat, the cost of electricity is not normally included in the additional charges, Nebenkosten, so self-sourcing is normally recommended. Originating from the late eighteen hundreds, Stadtwerke Düsseldorf is the local utilities company of choice in Düsseldorf. They generate some forty percent of their own electric power.

An average of some 140 million litres of drinking water flows through more than 1,800 km of the Dusseldorf supply system every day. That is the equivalent of about 700,000 bathtubs each holding 200 litres of water. Approximately one quarter of local water originates underground and an enormous three quarters through seepage from the river Rhine.

Here, the quality of the tap water is extremely high and is controlled by both European directives and national law. Specimens are taken and tested daily.