Although the paper traces briefly the early development of the independent consulting engineering practice in the UK, distinguishing between its role in civil engineering on the one hand and electrical and mechanical engineering on the other, it uses as its example of the design responsibility of the consulting engineer his involvement in high-voltage power transmission projects overseas. The paper does not deal in deatail with the consultant's relationships with client, contractor and lending agency, although some reference is made to changing trends in the role of the consulting engineer, including his part in the transfer of technology to the developing countries. The paper indicates how the responsibility for the design and manufacture of electromechanical plant passes to specialist manufacturers and shows how this responsibility differs in the case of overhead lines and substation civil works.