Are we liable for our tenant?

I own a three story house in Beverly Hills. Since we have a lot of rooms available we decided to look for tenants. Our tenants pay their own electricity bills. We have three tenants living with us. One tenant lost his job and has not been able to pay his rent and other bills for 5 months now. He has been a good tenant the past 2 years, so we let him stay in his premises with the hope that he will get a job soon and be able to pay his rent and other bills. However, the other day we received a letter from the electric company stating that it is applying for a court order directing a marshal to enter our basement to remove the meter that provides electric service to this tenant I mention earlier. What will be the implications on this to us? Are we liable for our tenant? If the meter is removed, will it cause a permanent disconnection of electricity for future tenants?