To provide auxiliary steam, a low pressure valve (62) is opened in a combined cycle system to divert low pressure steam (40) from the heat recovery steam generator (20) to a header (42) for supplying steam to a second combined cycle's steam turbine seals, sparging devices and cooling steam for the steam turbine if the steam turbine and gas turbine lie on a common shaft with the generator. Cooling steam (32) is supplied the gas turbine in the combined cycle system from the high pressure steam turbine (22). Spent gas turbine cooling steam may augment the low pressure steam supplied to the header by opening a high pressure valve (78) whereby high and low pressure steam flows are combined. An attemperator (74) is used to reduce the temperature of the combined steam (66) in response to auxiliary steam flows above a predetermined flow and a steam header temperature above a predetermined temperature. The auxiliary steam may be used to start additional combined cycle units or to provide a host unit with steam turbine cooling and sealing steam during full-speed no-load operation after a load rejection.