NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — As the fourth heat wave of the season hits New York, some residents are wondering how much it will cost to keep cool.

One woman told CBS 2′s Lou Young that she has resorted to special measures to keep her power bills down.

“I only run the AC at night, and I unplug what I can, but I’ve never seen bills like this,” said Amelia Jonides.

Ray Rabinowitz, of Dix Hills, ran up a central air bill with the Long Island Power Authority that he believes will top $500 for the month.

“You don’t want to write a blank check to LIPA every month,” Rabinowitz said.

While his wife understands the steep costs of constantly running the air conditioner, she said the heat is just too much to take.

“It costs a lot of money, but I don’t think about that when I’m hot,” Laura Rabinowitz said.

In more urbanized settings, power reductions make cooling systems insufficient against heat that has exceeded 90 degrees. Despite that, some customers said that they would be running their air conditioners no matter the cost.

Utility companies told CBS 2 that their rates have actually decreased, but demand for the product has increased.

Meanwhile, negotiations have resumed between Con-Edison and the union that represents their locked-out workers. The workers’ contract expired three weeks ago and neither side has reported much progress.

How are you handling the heat? Let us know in our comments section below…