Another good technical question. Electricity is generated when a conductor moves past a magnet (or vice-versa). The more magnet, conductor, or speed, the more elektrikity. Nukes to a lot of all of that.
An EMP generates a induced current in stuff that isn't actually attached. Think radio antennas inducing a current in remote radio antennas.
So, your genset gets exposed to an EMP and that wire that runs from the kill switch to the condenser(capacitor) arcs the capacitor out.
Need a new one to get the genset to start.
You can make your own, if you know how.
/johnny
Point being, we could recover from the attack.