The importance of the steam cycle design to maximize power generation is demonstrated using pinch analysis targeting techniques is demonstrated. Fixed steam headers, such as assumed in total site analysis, give no allowance for reheating before turbine expansion, which can be valuable to consider when optimizing the steam system for certain plant configurations. Additionally, previous work optimizes the steam pressure level based on its saturation temperature alone. The present work examines the effect of including both sensible and latent heating of steam in the balanced composite curve. It is shown that including sensible heating allows for better thermal matching between the process and steam system which results in improving the overall efficiency while minimizing cost. A case study using an IGCC plant with CCS is analyzed to assess changes in steam cycle design on the plant efficiency and cost. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.