Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in New Jersey

Assuming that your question relates to a residential tenancy, you cannot turn off the electricity or do anything else that might constitute a constructive eviction. However, if the tenant is supposed to pay and doesn't, you are not obligated to keep the account current. Your problem is that you will then have trouble with the restoration. In the alternative, you can pay the electric bill and charge the amount as additional rent. The tenant can be evicted for non-payment or rent or additional rent.

I teach a CE course on landlord/tenant law and advise my landlord students to begin eviction proceedings as soon as the tenant exceeds the grace period. In a properly drafted lease, one of two things can happen. Either the tenants pays the rent and additional rent including your attorney fees and thereafter thinks twice about being late or otherwise delinquent; or the tenant will be evicted at the lowest possible cost and the property can go back on the market so that it can resume making money.

See also: http://info.corbettlaw.net/lawguru.htm